Nowhere to Hide
by superwholockedrem
Summary: The prophecy was wrong from the beginning. Now, Merlin and Arthur have to pay the consequences as the Prince of Camelot and the Sorcerer Prince of Essetir. First, Merlin gets chased out of his castle and lands, and Arthur is STILL a prat! Slight Merlin!Whump and bromance between everyone at some point. Enjoy!
1. Devastation

_So. I still don't own Merlin. I have never owned Merlin. I probably WILL never own Merlin. That's all I have to say about that._

* * *

Magic.

In one kingdom, the very word angered millions in the kingdom of Camelot. Inside of the walls, it had been used in both it's best and it's worst ways. It had lived in its purest and most corrupt forms.

Balinor. Nimue. Morgana. Uther. Merlin. Morgause. Igraine. Hunith. The druids. Mordred. Arthur. These people all had influence over a prophecy that had been told from the beginning of time. Their deaths had already been woven by the Fates several hundreds of years before these people were even concepts in their parents' minds.

But what if the first decision that had sparked off this series of events had been changed? What if a woman destined for evil did the right thing instead of causing the deaths of thousands of innocents? What if the first decision in the prophecy written thousands of years before had changed because of one woman and her kindness?

Nimue saw what she was supposed to do. She knew that to give Igraine and Uther the child that they had always wanted, the heir to the throne of Camelot, a life must be given in return. She knew that this child would be the Once and Future king, with his most trusted adviser, Emrys. She knew that Igraine should be the one to die, sparking a rage in Uther that had never been seen before. She knew that all of these events _should_ happen.

But the High Priestess of the Old Religion would not accept her part in the prophecy. She would _not_ be the one to kill her best friend. _She_ was in control of the cup of life. Instead of Igraine's death being the starting of a new era, one of pain and destruction, her life would spare so many people the harshness of her grieving husband. Oh yes, she would give her friends the child that they wanted, but at the price of something...less important to them.

* * *

Prince Arthur Pendragon was born on the starting of a new month. Igraine was so tired that she fell back upon the pillows, exhaustion taking its toll. Uther picked up the baby boy and smiled proudly at the child. The baby grabbed his fathers nose and giggled and the king, looking extremely confused and awkward, put the child back into the midwife's arm.

"Nimue!" Uther called to the sorceress, who was trying to slip out of the door without the happy couple noticing. "Would you like to hold him?"

She paused, fear glistening in her eyes for a moment before walking over to the bed and sitting down next to Igraine. The midwife smiled at the sorceress, who smiled unsurely back before awkwardly taking the baby. The instant that he laid in her arms, the little boy smiled happily and snuggled into her touch. Nimue's face lit up as she slightly bounced the child in her arms, sining soothing druid lullabies to him as his quiet giggles turned into the soft breathing and gurgling of a sleeping child. Even after he fell asleep, the court sorceress sighed and smiled at the boy, humming softly to him.

"What will his name be?" She asked the queen, a beautiful smile gracing her face.

"Arthur." The queen whispered as she fell asleep, just like her son.

"Well, Arthur," she addressed the sleepy child, "I'm sure you will make a great prince and king."

"All thanks to you." Uther kissed the top of her head in gratitude.

"Yes. Now, I do believe I better get going. I have an appointment with a friend, later."

The king waved his hand. "Of course."

The sorceress reluctantly gave the baby back to the midwife and swiftly exited the room.

"See you tomorrow, Court Sorceress!" He called to her. "My friend!"

Nimue paused in the doorway, her body tense as she gripped the edges of the door.

"Good night, sire. See you, tomorrow." She said over her shoulder without looking back at the occupants of the room. She couldn't be the executioner of her friends, not even for the famous druid prophecy and would rather pay the price than have to go insane. So, that was what she did.

The next day, Nimue was found cold and dead in her chambers, tears still wet on the pillows, fear still shining in her eyes.

* * *

**_TWENTY YEARS LATER_**

**CAMELOT**

"Arthur!" Igraine called to her son, her hands on her hips, marching towards him, angrily.

"Yes, mum?" He asked, turning away from his point of amusement. She had a long wooden stick in her hand which she had picked up as soon as she saw limbs flying as her son stood by and watched, laughing. She slapped him soundly across the face and got into the fight, whacking his friends away from their victim.

"What! Do! You! Think! You're! DOING!" She accentuated each word with a blow that knocked each friend, one by one, away from the boy who was huddled pathetically on the cobblestones. The queen recognized the boy as the Court Physicians' apprentice. "Standing on the side and watching an innocent getting beaten senseless by YOUR OWN FRIENDS?! What kind of cruel joke is that?!" The furious woman shook her head so fast that her dangling earrings hit her strong jawline. "You think that's strength, but you're wrong." She cradled the injured, unconscious boy in her arms and began to carry him inside as the prince stood on the side in shock. "Sometimes, I wonder if you were worth my best friends' life. You have disappointed me, my boy." And with that cold, stinging note, she carried the boy and disappeared inside the walls of the castle.

The prince was still frozen. He could understand if his father had said it to him because it was nothing new that that was the way the king felt about his son, but _his own_ _mother? _She had always been who he ran to after his fathers' beatings, but his mothers words cut deeper than any cut his father could inflict upon him. The stung more than any of his fathers slaps. He was just having fun! How was that wrong?

Arthur put his hand to the place where the queen had struck him, and tears began to prick the backs of his eyes. He bit his lip to stop himself from whimpering as he bolted inside to his chambers, where he locked the door from the inside and felt to the ground, silent, painful, hot tears falling down his face, his cheeks burning in shame.

He tried to think positively. What he had done wasn't so bad that his mother would never forgive him, right?

Right?!

* * *

**ESSETIR**

Prince Merlin of Essetir ran through the castle, his famous neckerchief covering his nose and mouth, his ripped cloak trailing behind him. The ground under him shook and he stumbled into a wall before resuming his sprinting. His eyes streamed with the tears that kept on trying to rid his eyes of the putrid stuff. He had to defend the throne room at all costs. His mother and father, the king and queen, needed protection.

He got to the end of the hallway and took a sharp right turn, attempting to make his way to the throne room, but there was too much smoke. He coughed and grabbed his chest in pain, only to stumble back into the wall and crack his head so hard that his ears were ringing. When he fell down, he felt fire lick at his arm and he screamed. Warmth instantly crept up behind his eyes as power flowed from him and extinguished the flames with a flash of his eyes. The boy grabbed his arm in pain, groaning in agony. Something trickled down his face and onto his neck, and he had a horrible feeling he knew what it was. The prince stumbled out into the courtyard, his eyes stinging and his lungs filling with smoke. With a cry, he began to run clumsily towards the door which led directly to the throne room, but smoke poured out from around the cracks and billowed out into the open air. When he pressed his back to the door to try to open it, the metal door-knocker burned his back, but he jumped away before it could do any serious damage. He stumbled into the center of the court yard and could see hoards of people streaming out of the back exit, which was just a few meters away from him.

"MERLIN!" A familiar voice called to him. He whipped his head around, trying to find the source of the sound.

"WILL!" His voice cracked as he screamed his friends name. The fleet-footed servant barreled out of the smoke and threw the prince over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"We have to get out of here!" Will told Merlin as he struggled and protested against the other boy. The prince could see Lancelot (The brave, loyal and kind knight), Percival (the silent giant knight), and Gwaine (The drunken, yet charming and loyal knight) trailing behind them.

"It's your mum and dad's orders I'm following. Take it up with them if you object."

"NO! GET OFF!" He squirmed and screamed, kicking and punching his servant. "UNHAND ME, PEASANT!" Merlin spat as he pounded on Will's back with his fists. The servant boy flinched at the derogatory term, but his grip only grew tighter. "LET ME GO! I HAVE TO PROTECT MY PARENTS!"

"Shut up, Merlin," warned Lancelot, gripping his sword so hard that his knuckles shone white, "or I'll have to knock you out. You have no right to talk to people like that, even when you're unhappy."

"I don't care." He growled his throat raw and scratchy. "You can't DO THIS TO ME! I'm the PRINCE!"

"Please, sire, calm down." Will's eyes filled with tears as his friend finally stopped struggling in his arms.

Merlin watched as smoke curled away from the castle. His home was gone. He remembered the faces of all of his friends and family, and prayed that they were relatively unharmed. That they had gotten out alive.

A terrifying scream rang out of the smoke, half animal and half girl. He saw a large cat-like shape fall out of the air and he froze in shock before kicking Will in the gut and falling off of his shoulder. The prince tried to crawl away from the small crowd, tears falling down his cheeks.

"FREYA!" He screamed in anguish, pain filling his chest. His hand shot out, as if trying to catch her, but it was too late. He knew she was gone. "No." He whispered, trying to talk through the gigantic lump that had formed in his throat.

Then, he could feel nothing. He watched from afar as the family flag of Cenred was flown above Essetir for the first time in decades. His friends dragged him onto his feet and he walked with them with the feeling that a hole was just torn out of his chest.

"We need to get to Camelot." Gwaine said with a hollow voice, "It's our only hope of survival. The other kingdoms are months away. Uther's kingdom is only a few days of hard, non-stop walking."

Lancelot held his head high, his shoulders square, and his back straight. "The last of the Ambrosius's must be kept alive at all costs. If that means walking to Camelot, well, so be it." He bowed at Merlin's feet. "I will protect you with every last breath in my body."

The boy prince just walked passed his old friend, which made Lancelot's speech just sound kind of tacky. His eyes were empty and tired as if he was already dead. Will nodded at the knight, grateful for his support of his friend. Gwaine unscrewed his flask and took a long drink. Essetir was the first place where he had felt he had belonged. He had so many friends, but now they were gone. All he wanted to do was lie down and die next to them, but the prince was still alive and he needed help. Fast.

"There's nothing like ale to clear the mind." He laughed quietly to himself as he felt he amber liquid burn his throat.

Will trudged along beside his master, watching for any signs of awareness or recognition in those cold, dead eyes that used to be so happy, so full of life. There was none.  
They walked on through the days and nights, through forests and fields, through swamps and grasslands, never stopping for a break. The whole time, the five friends remained silent for the rest of the long walk to Camelot.

* * *

"Boring, isn't it?" Tristan turned to his friend, who sat against the stone wall, his legs to his chest, his arms draped over his knees. "During a battle it gets pretty intense, but now there's nothing to do except make sure the people aren't going to kill others. If they have a sword that was not bought inside of the city, we report them. Over and over again. It's so boring." The guard smiled at a pretty woman, his eyes wandering a bit lower as she passed by. "Except for the women."

Tristan sighed. "You say the same thing every day, Ganymede. Why don't you just quit?"

The other guard held up his hand, rubbing his forefinger, middle finger, and thumb together.

"Money." He drew out the word as if Tristan was an idiot. The younger guard threw a well aimed stone at Ganymede's head. It bounced off with a nice thunk, like someone stomping on a table.

"Ow!"

They laughed and Tristan let his gaze wander to the horizon. The sun was setting, and the sky was painted with blue, red, gold, and black.

"Someday, I'm going to be out there. I'm going to be a knight one day, and do the most extraordinary things."

"Riiiiight..." Ganymede laughed at his friend. Tristan only rolled his eyes, turning back to the setting sun. Five black figures emerged from the forest and stumbled onto the hill in front of him, a few meters away. Three of them were dressed in knights armor, except unlike Camelot, their torn and sweaty shirts were a deep, royal blue. The largest knight and the long haired knight were helping a man dressed in a slightly less impressive garb, like a better versions of a servants clothes. The boy in front wore royal blue, a golden circlet placed carefully on top of his dark hair and was stumbling and shaking. Finally, he collapsed, but the other knight caught the boy before he hit the ground. They all looked exhausted, filthy, and starving, yet the knight carried the boy in his arms.

Then, he saw the guards and his eyes filled with hope.

"Help us!" he cried.

The young guard's mouth dropped open.

"Wh-What the-"

"The prince of Essetir!" Tristan cried as he bolted over to help them. He helped the knight carry the prince as Ganymede helped carry the servant.

"We need a physician, and quickly!" The knight helped Tristan put one of the prince's arms over his shoulder and balance the weight between them. The boy prince groaned in pain as they put the weight on his shoulders. The guard could see a huge burn which wound up his arm and wrapped around his bicep. Beads of sweat lined his pale face as his breaths came shakily in and out of his chest, making wheezing sounds as they passed though his throat, more severe than any of the knights quiet wheezing. "The prince is fading. He was injured before we started the journey. I think they might get infected if they haven't already."

"But you're hurt, too, sir knight. You need to get that leg wound treated. You need help!"

"I only got mine a few days ago. It's healing nicely, I think, but the prince's burns or head wound haven't healed in two weeks. I'm sir Lancelot, by the way."

"I'm Tristan."

"Nice to meet you."

"Just let me direct you guys to the physician's quarters, then I'll run and tell the king and queen you're here." But Gaius will insist on treating your wounds, so secretly, I'll be helping you as well.

Sir Lancelot nodded. "Of course."

He let Tristan drag him into the castle and hoped with all of his heart that they were ready for the prince.

* * *

_Hey again! I'm BAAAAAACK with another fic. I just miss Merlin so much, the fics make themselves. They practically BEG to get on the pages. It's not MY fault if this project runs over into school time, so don't blame me. I just really love writing the characters and the scenes and... IT'S STILL NOT MY FAULT! So, I know this chapter is lacking in Morgana and Gwen, but I think I got the major knights in. If I missed anybody, feel free to tell me!_

_So, I know I wrote a pretty whumpy fic last time, and I know some of you guys are thinking, "Really, REM?! ANOTHER Merlin whump?! Didn't we have enough in PoD?" Well, sorry. I didn't have enough. I don't know what it is with Merlin, but somehow, his character seems like he's just ASKING to get hurt! It may be because of his seemingly childish innocence. Or maybe he just didn't get hurt enough during the show. Am I right or am I right? ;)_

_Anyway, this fic might not be updated every week. Most likely, it's gonna end up being updated every MONTH, because SCHOOL IS HELL. I'll be extremely busy with my new classes and all of my other crap. I hope you can forgive me._

_Tell me if I've improved, or if I'm still crap. Please don't keep it to yourself! I love helpful criticisms. Plus, the review button will start growling at you if you don't click it. It's kinda lonely._

_Thanks for reading!_

_REM_

_PS: I fixed a few of the bugs in this chapter b/c I reread it and realized just how many spelling mistakes I have made in this thing. EXTRA POINTS TO ANYONE WHO FIGURES OUT WHY I CHOSE GANYMEDE! (12/10/14)_


	2. Licking Your Wounds

_No owning Merlin for me!_

* * *

Gaius was having a rough day. Some of the knights had decided to beat up his assistant, Damian, for their entertainment, so he was already down one worker and up a patient. Luckily, the Queen had caught and reprimanded them before they could do extreme or lasting damage to the boy, but the child's life was hard enough already, being an orphan adopted by a not-so-wealthy family in the slums, yet, for him, anything was better than his time on the streets. His assistant was still unconscious from the pain, and hopefully would be for a while. Waking up to the pain that he would wake up to is not fun for anyone. PERIOD.

At first, Gaius had fixed the broken left arm, put it in a splint, and strapped it to his chest. It needed to stay immobile to heal properly, and the only way for it to be that way was to make it impossible for Damian to move. He had known the kid for a few years now, so he knew that the boy would move it unless he physically _couldn't_. As soon as Damian's adopted sorcerer brother and best friend, Gili, had heard about the incident, he ran to Gaius's chambers, and there he stayed until his brother could walk out with him. Gili had tried helping out by putting a spell on Damian that would help ease his pain, even if it only worked a little bit. He had helped the old man apply the ointments to his best friend's bruises and cuts. The two boys were always together. If you saw Damian walk through the door, his long, brown shaggy hair going in every direction, including into his eyes, the other short brown haired boy would be right behind. Most of the time, they kept each other out of trouble by being able to intimidate the lesser bullies, but when it came up to the knights, it took Gili's magic to scare those big fish off, so naturally, Gili blamed himself for not being there to help.

"If I was there," he whispered to himself, "I would have been able to stop them!"

Gaius, overhearing this lament, glanced up at the boy. "Maybe," he shrugged, then he leaned slightly forward, his long, white hair swinging, "or maybe I'd have another patient."

Gili glared at the physician as the old man slathered a few more bruises with his ointments, but he knew that Gaius was right. His eyes fell on Damian's form and his expression instantly turned concerned. His friend was squirming and groaning uncomfortably. He hoped that wasn't a sign of consciousness.

'No, Damian.' Gili pressed the palm of his hand firmly on his brother's forehead, "**Gysgu'n dda ac yn ddwfn****.**" Damian's body instantly relaxed as he fell back into a deep sleep, and Gili sighed with relief. "You need to rest." The boy grabbed a chair and sat next to his sleeping friend. "Gaius, just tell me if you need help with something. I'll fill in for Damian today."

"Thank you, my boy." Gaius's voice was soft and kind as he walked back over to the table, grabbing the mortar and pestle from the other tabled and clunking it down on the one next to the sick cot, getting ready to blend some herbs.

That was why, when the door flung open and seven people piled into the small room, Gaius just sighed, not looking up from his potion. That was _just_ the kind of day he was having.

"If you could just wait outside for a moment, please." He said, anger seething through the cracks of his clenched teeth 'I already have several patients and it isn't even lunchtime yet' he thought unhappily to himself.

"Gaius..." Gili gasped, his eyes wide in shock. Anything that made that boy look away from his injured friend must have been something to see, so Gaius put his hands to his sides, one hand still holding the pestle, and sighed again.

"What?" Irritated, Gaius looked upward to his new patients.

His hands went limp with shock.

The pestle fell to the floor with a dull thump.

There was complete silence, besides the loud wheezing coming from the black haired Prince, for about a full minute.

Tristan shifted awkwardly. "Court Physician, the Prince of Essetir is injured as well as a few of his knights! Please come quickly. A chamber has been made ready for him and we will find some room for the knights to stay.

"The- The prince of Essetir!" The old man stammered, shock evident in his voice. "Queen Hunith and King Balinor's son, and my nephew!"

"Oh."

"Have you told the king, Tristan?"

"Well," the guard shifted awkwardly under the physicians' sharp gaze. "I haven't had the chance to, but I will as soon as I can!" The boy flicked his head towards the opened door. "The room next to Prince Arthur's is unoccupied. It has been kept clean and ready, just in case. C'mon, we have to move!"

Gaius nodded and trudged after them. The two guards took the five Essetirans to the guest chambers, ignoring the strange sobbing coming from the Prince's chambers, and laid the Sorcerer Prince on the bed. His wheezing had gotten worse from just the trip around the castle, and his burns looked puffy.

The knight that had been helping Tristan carry the prince sat down on the floor and groaned.

"We've been walking for two weeks with very few stops. Prince Merlin kept on walking and walking until, finally, every four days, he would collapse. We, of course, made sure that he was eating and drinking." He took off his shoes and sighed in relief. Blood covered the bottoms of his blistered, red feet, even though they were wrapped with a long white bandage. The other two knights had fallen asleep on the floor next to the awakened knight, who was fighting against unconsciousness, himself. "We could hardly keep up. It seemed as though nothing mattered to him after the attack." He sighed, his body relaxing against the cool stone of the wall. "The castle of Essetir has fallen. The king and queen...are missing. Hopefully they were smuggled out during the heat of the battle. Until they are found, Merlin must be kept safe. We'll... stay with the prince I guess until you find us room." The knights words began slurring together and soon, he was passed out next to his friends.

"Lancelot!" Tristan shook his shoulder, but it only made his head loll around. "Hey, Lancelot!"

"Don't wake him." Gaius walked over to the bed. Next to the prince sat a boy in Essetir servants clothes. His head rested on his arm, which was sprawled out towards his master, the prince. The steady rise and fall of his chest told the physician all he needed to know about the boys state of consciousness, and Gaius brushed back the wet hair from the princes forehead. His eyebrows scrunched together when he felt how warm his skin was, and he called for Tristan to bring the maidservant, Gwen with a cool, wet towel.

"But," Tristan's eyes flicked to the knight, "what about Gili, sir?"

The old man shook his head. "Gili needs to stay by his brother's side. Damian needs him more than I do. He needs someone who he can look at and take comfort in that face when he wakes up. The pain'll be pretty extreme."

"What..." Tristan bit his lip hesitantly, "What happened to him? Was it Prince Arthur's friends again?"

"Yes."

"You remember what happened last time, right? Do you think it'll be worse?"

Gaius did remember, although he had tried to forget. After Damian was practically ripped to shreds by the prince's friends, for a week afterward, Arthur wasn't allowed anywhere near the poor boy. When he was finally let in to apologize and entered the room to do so with his friends backing him up, the physician's apprentice's scrambled out of his bed with a yelp with his limbs flailing, ran into his room, and locked himself in the tiny chambers for the rest of the day. With lots of slow exposure, he was able to stand the prince and his friends for a few minutes of talking without triggering his fight-or-flight response, so the prince would purposely hold him up and talk to him for the sole purpose of seeing Damian's terrified expression. The only time when it didn't work was when Gili was with him. Gili was the only one who was able to help him through the panic attacks.

The old physician shook his head, sighing. "Hopefully not, or I'm afraid that boy will leave Camelot to stay away from the Prince and his gaggle of idiots."

With a sigh, Tristan nodded and left to go get Gwen.

* * *

Later that evening as Gwen slowly wiped the Prince of Essetir's burning forehead with a cool towel, the servant sleeping on the other side of the bed began to wake up. He sighed, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. A yawn erupted from his opened mouth and he blinked his tired, sunken eyes in confusion before realizing where he was.

"Camelot, right?" He asked the woman sitting across from him. "I'm in Camelot?"

The woman nodded. "Of course! Where did you think you were?!"

With a sigh, he rubbed his face wearily and sighed, looking even more tired than before. "So everything was true." The servant bit his lip, trying to blink away the tears. Looking closely at his sleeping master, he brushed the hair away from the prince's forehead. "How is he? How long has he been out?"

With a shrug, Gwen turned back to the Prince. "He's only been here for a few hours, but I think his wounds might be infected. Why do you care about him? He's your master. If he dies, you're free."

The boy snorted. "I'm not his slave. I'm his servant. I get paid." He rubbed his arms, eyebrows scrunching together. "Plus, Merlin's my friend." He held out his hand. "I'm William. My friends call me Will."

Gwen smiled, hesitantly shaking his hand. "I'm Guinevere. My friend's call me Gwen."

Will smiled and looked at her, thoroughly. "I'm glad my friends life is in such good hands."

The maidservant giggled, blushing furiously. "Well, I'm just filling in for the physician. He wrapped up the Prince's burns and stitched the Prince's head injury, as well as wrapping the knights and your feet. His name is Gaius. Right now, he's tending to another patient. If you'd like to meet him, I could get a guard to escort you to his chambers?"

"Well," Will shifted uncomfortably and turned his worried gaze on the Prince, Merlin, "if he wakes up, or shows any signs of waking up, you'll come and get me, right?"

Gwen nodded. "Or I'll send someone else for you."

The boy bit his lip again and rubbed his hands together, slowly trying to get up, his face twisting in pain before Gwen pushed him gently back into the chair that he had been sleeping in."Just sit down. The guard'll help you-"

"I don't need help." Will snapped, his ears turning bright red at the obvious lie. "I'm fine."

"Alright, but I haven't even called for the guard, yet! Just wait for a minute and take over this thing for me?" She handed him the wet rag and Prince Merlin moaned in discomfort, squirming under the blankets. The two servants looked at him, thoroughly shocked at his increase in movement. "He looks like he's getting worse, but he needs to ride this one out. We can only treat the symptoms. Ganymede!" She called and a guard burst through the door, his hand on the handle of his sword.

"What is it, Gwen?" He demanded, looking frantically around the room.

"Well, Will here would like to see our physician's chambers. Will you please escort him?" The tension in the guard's body relaxed as he looked at the manservant, but it was instantly followed by an expression of annoyance.

"That's it?" He sounded kind of disappointed that there was nothing more important to do before he looked again at the servant. "Wait a second," he said, "You're the other Prince's servant, right?"

"Umm." Will's eyebrow disappeared into his hairline. "I guess?"

The guard's ridged body tension returned with his look of dutifulness and determination. "You are to see the king once you wake up."

Will crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair, his jawline as tense as Ganymede's posture. "It doesn't have to be immediately, right?"

The man shifted, uncomfortably. "I guess not."

"Then, take me to the Court Physician, Gaius. I need some medication."

"Uh. Okay." The guard opened the door for Will, and the servant limped out into the hallway, cursing every step along the way.

* * *

By the time they reached Gaius's chambers, Will was heavily leaning on Ganymede for support, sweat making his hair and shirt soaking wet. The older man, Ganymede, knocked loudly on the door. Cries and whimpers could be heard and Will bit his lip, hoping they hadn't gone to a kind of torture chamber instead. What if the King thought they were spies, and was going to use him to get information about the other castle and their weak points? What if the King didn't believe that the castle was truly taken?

An old man popped his head out of the door, the sounds of sobbing getting louder as the door opened wider. "Hello? I'm a bit busy right now." He said, his voice, quiet, yet stern.

"Gaius, this is Prince Merlin's manservant, Will. He has come for some pain medications for the Prince, the Knights, and himself." Ganymede explained as Will tried to catch his breath. The walk had been extremely hard, and he was still recovering. For a second, he felt like he was going to pass out, but then he was pulled into the room by the guard, who sat him down on a bench next to a table filled with herbs and potions and all sorts of different things. There was a bed across the room with a boy with light brown hair about five years older than him sitting next to the writhing patient, who moaned and cried in discomfort. On the bed, the boy was the same age as the other one, sweat pouring down his neck and soaking the covers as well as his hair and shirt. It was obvious that he had been beaten pretty badly and his broken arm was very swollen, the cause of his discomfort. On the side of the bed, the boy mumbled a few words, then his eyes lit up with gold and the boy on the bed relaxed, still whimpering and shaking, but his writhing had ceased nearly completely.

"Mr. Gaius?" Will called to the old man.

"Just Gauis, Will." He turned to the boy, a small twinkle in his eyes.

"I would like to thank you for saving the Prince and helping us. We really needed it."

The old man smiled slightly. "No problem, my boy."

There was a slight pause in conversation.

"What happened to that boy?" Will jerked his head towards the cot.

With a sigh, Gaius sat across from Will and folder his hands in his lap. "That's my assistant. Some knights beat him for fun, but he was found by the queen. She rescued him and brought him here. You'll meet her soon." The physician pressed five bottles into Will's hands. "These are for the pain."

"Thank you so much, sir." He got up slowly from the bench, limping back towards Ganymede and allowed the guard to put his arm around his shoulders, effectively taking the weight off of Will's damaged feet. "I won't forget it."

"It's my job, my boy. I'll see you later."

* * *

The manservant sat back down beside his master and put his head on the bed. He had just gotten back from his brief meeting with the physician and so far, the city had been pretty good for him. Gwen was still dabbing the Prince's forehead with the cool, wet towel, but he looked nearly dead. His eyes were ringed with purple bruises and he was as pale as a porcelain doll. He was completely still. The only thing that kept will from mourning his master was the soft, constant rise and fall of his chest. This reassured Will that the Prince was still alive.

"I'm not sure if he's going to wake up." Gwen mumbled softly to the servant. Will's eyes filled with tears.

"He has to live. He's only fifteen, he CAN'T die. He's too young."

Gwen was silent. There was a long pause before the doors burst open, revealing a drunk, shirtless, happy looking Gwaine, an annoyed looking Lancelot, and, as always, a neutral looking Percival.

"Is 'e... not 'wake yet?" Gwaine stumbled around, his expression confused and annoyed. "Well, 'e miss..ed all the fun a'ready. Hiya, Will!" He waved clumsily at the servant who hesitantly waved back.

"Okay, Gwaine." Lancelot patted his friend on the back and sat him down on the floor. "Okay." He turned to the maidservant, a blush slightly rising to his cheeks as he caught her eye. "Sorry. He has a drinking problem. It's gotten worse since... well, you know. How is he?" Lancelot came over to the bed, and looked at the prince, his face scrunching with worry.

"Not so good." Gwen dipped the towel in the bowl filled with water before placing it back on his head. "Hopefully, he'll wake up soon."

A guard burst through the door and called loudly, "Where is the_ servant, _William?"

Will nodded, downing the potion that Gaius had given him in one gulp, gagging slightly at the horrible lingering taste.

"The king requires your presence immediately!" The guard ran over and grabbed the manservant's arm. Shoving him out of the door with way more force than necessary. The burning pain in his feet was so severe that he fell back to his hands and knees with a cry. This was all that was needed to sober Gwaine, and the guard found the knight's sword right below his chin in no time. Rage was practically pouring off of the drunk, his eyes hard and angry.

"_Never_ treat anyone of my friends like that again or I will cut your throat." His voice was low and so threatening that even his friends took a step back.

"Y-Y-Yes, sir knight." The guard's knees were practically clacking together. His face was pale and his eyes wide. When Gwaine dropped the sword back to his side and helped Will back to his feet, the guard ran out of the door as fast as he could while still leading the injured boy to the throne room.

The large oak doors opened, revealing a large number of silent nobles, their servant's lining the walls of the Great Hall. The ceiling was at least fifty feet above Will's head and he stared at the beautiful marble columns which held the structure together. Stained glass windows splashed yellow and red at the feet of the four main thrones at the head of the gigantic room. Seated in the thrones were the lady Morgana and Queen Igraine on one side, Prince Arthur and King Uther on the other. Gaius caught the boy's eye and nodded, trying to give the boy some support. Will walked up to the thrones, the guard pushing him slightly forward, and fell to his knees, his eyes pointed at the ground secretly thanking god that his legs didn't fail him earlier.

The King got up out of his throne and stood in front of Will, who trembled under the harsh gazes of the unhappy nobles. Uther knelt in front of him, looking the frightened boy straight in the eyes.

"You are William, the manservant of Prince Merlin?" The king asked softly, trying to calm the poor, shaking servant.

"Y-Yes, sire." He whispered, fear and astonishment clear in his eyes.

"Please tell the council everything you remember from the attack on Essetir."

* * *

_Hey! Surprise surprise! I'm back early this time! It's a miracle!  
So, I brought in a few more characters and hopefully, they weren't too OOC. I'm trying to make them seem as close to the characters in the show as I possibly can, even if it **is** an AU. Gwaine doesn't hate nobles because instead of Cenred ruling Essetir, it was Balinor. When his father died in battle, Gwaine's family was given money and nice home to stay in. Will was only in one episode as well as Gili, so I might be changing their personalities a bit more because they are just minor characters who become more major in this story. I'm actually not sure how much more of Tristan and Ganymede you'll see, but I think they will be more minor than Gili, Damian, and Will. Just an FYI, magic was never banned in Camelot, yet it's still feared.  
__Merlin will be waking up very soon, so I hope you don't get to annoyed that he's still unconscious in this chapter! The iconic scene of Merlin meeting Arthur is also coming up, yet because their ranks are so similar and magic **is** legal, it will be slightly different from what it was in the show. This will be my last summer update, so expect updates every month or two from now on. I'm going to be **quite** busy with other stuff this year, but I promise to write whenever I can.  
Please don't forget to review! Those reviews are what I live off of!  
The spell that Gilli does is in Welsh, but I used google translate, so it might be off! Supposedly, it means "Sleep soundly and deeply."  
_

_Review replies:  
mersan1231- Thank you so much! I hope you like this update, although I have to warn you, this one might be quite a lot longer than PoD, and somewhat stranger, but less intense.  
waszka098- Dziękujemy! Mam nadzieję, że ta aktualizacja jest do swoich standardów. Niestety, nie wiem, po polsku, więc jest to z google translate. Mam nadzieję, że to nieco zrozumiałe!  
_

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!  
See ya next time!  
__REM_


	3. The Lost Brother

_I don't own you know who. I MEANT MERLIN NOT VOLDEMORT I'M SO SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME!_

* * *

Uther stood back up and sat back in his throne, nodding at the nervous boy, attempting to give him some support.

"Please speak loud enough so that the council can hear." He gestured to the rest of the lords and Will nodded.

"Of course." When he opened his mouth, the words just came tumbling out. "I woke up at the normal time and got ready like a normal day. The only thing that was off at first was the slight smell of smoke. I was getting the princes' breakfast when I heard the bells. There was a second when everyone had frozen in shock before plates clattered to the ground and servant's ran to the aid of their masters. Of course, I ran and woke up my master, prince Merlin. At first, I attempted to get him out of the castle, but he wouldn't leave without his parents and friends, as well as princess Freya, whom he was betrothed to and loved without a doubt. He told me to get his closest circle of knights so that he only had to get the princess and his parents. I ran off and got the knights, or all of them that were left. Owen, Trevor, Ethan, Julian, Mark, Devan, and Harold had all died fighting Cenred's army." Will's voice cracked for a second when he named the deceased friends and for a moment, he was silent, gathering himself together before continuing. "Cenred is King Balinor's bastard brother on his fathers' side. The man has grown ruthless and cruel, but luckily, he doesn't have magic. He will not rest until his half brothers' head hangs outside of his window and Queen Hunith marries him.

"I got to the throne room before Merlin had, but the once great hall was already half caved in. The King and Queen were helping the knights search in the rubble for survivors and I could hear the screams of the injured knights from the other side of the room. I ran up to them and tried to help them dig the knights out," he held out his bandaged hands, "but the King and Queen told me to get the prince out by any means necessary. I told them that Merlin- I mean Prince Merlin- was looking for them now and that he wouldn't leave without them, but they insisted. King Balinor walked me to the door when the whole castle shook with the impact of another boulder from their trebuchet. The screams grew louder and I saw another part of the ceiling fall next to Queen Hunith. I think a piece might have hit her, but before I could see, the ceiling between the King and I fell and a piece hit my shoulder." With a shaking hand, Will pulled down his collar to reveal a almost healed jagged scar, his eyes wide in fear just from the memory. "I ran through the hallways trying to find my master. I nearly ran into a wall of fire. The smoke was getting so thick that I felt like I was choking. As I began to run the other way, I felt a hand grab my ankle and I screamed as I fell on my hands and knees. It..." The servant gulped, his heart pounding at the recollection, "It was Trevor. The ceiling had fallen on him and he was screaming for me to get the piece off of his legs, and his screams... awful... so loud... he just kept on screaming." Tears rolled down his face. "Next to him were the other knights, all slaughtered except Sir Lancelot, Sir Percival, and Sir Gwaine. The knights that were alive and relatively unharmed pulled me out of Sir Trevor's grasp and there was so much blood." He shook like a leaf in the wind. "So much blood... I didn't even know that the human body could bleed that much. Sir Julian was screaming for his mother and Sir Owen was crying. Sir Owen told me," Will gulped, hiccuping, "to check on his wife and child, to make sure that they were safe. I reassured him that I would, but I had passed their bodies on the floor. I told him that he would go to the best heavan where he could play with his son all day and his wife would be smiling at him and welcoming him home. He cared about his family the most and, he died with a smile on his face thinking that they were okay. But they weren't. They were DEAD!" He screamed and fell to his knees, sobbing and tearing at his hair. "My mother and sister are gone now, too, and I couldn't do anything to save her!" He took a deep breath to calm himself down enough to talk

"I ran to the court yard, the knights following close behind when I heard Prince Merlin scream my name. I yelled for him, then saw him through the thick smoke. I ran at him, picking him up and throwing his circlet into my bag. He argued, saying horrible things to me and I knew it was just the anger, but it still hurt like hell. Then, the prince saw his girlfriend, Freya, get shot and fall from the castle wall. Once the prince was back on his feet, he kept on walking until he collapsed from exhaustion. Only then could we treat his wounds, although we got him to eat as he walked with a lot of coaxing. For three weeks, we've been barely sleeping and eating and drinking as little as we could, but we were getting weak by the time we reached your castle, Camelot." Will fell to the ground and curled up, his wide, unseeing eyes pointing towards the thrones.

King Uther looked tired, his eyes sad. Prince Arthur looked horrified, amazed, and proud of the servant for keeping in together for as long as he did. Igraine looked as if she wanted to hug the boy, her eyebrows scrunched together with worry. Morgana looked shocked and horrified, her hands covering her pounding heart. For a second, there was silence as the council processed what the boy had said before one of the nobles gestured to the guard, Fredric, to pick up the boy and take him to Gaius's chambers. The old physician followed the guard out, then lead him to Prince Merlin's chambers.

Gaius dragged a large, fluffy rug next to Merlin's bed and made sure that when the boys woke up, they could be reassured by the others presence. He took a pillow which Merlin wasn't on and placed it under Wills head, telling the guard t go get a a sheet and a blanket to cover the servant. Fredric nodded and was back in a few minutes, his arms full of the sheet and blanket that the old man had asked for. After he tucked the covers up to the traumatized boys chin, he left, preparing himself to face whatever atrocities he had to face in his own chambers where his injured assistant slept, tired out from the panic attack that he had had earlier in the day in which he broke several empty beakers and flung a few of Gaius's belongings on the floor. Both patients had been wounded in different ways from different traumatic experiences and were almost scared beyond repair.

It was just his day, wasn't it?

* * *

Will woke up with a start, sweat pouring down his neck. The somehow opened curtains spat light out into the room even though he swore that he closed them every time he fell asleep. His sweaty hair made the pillow slightly soggy and he sat up, confused and disoriented, trying to remember when he had gotten back to Merlin's room, or when he had pulled the rug under him and gotten the blanket and sheet. His heart pounded so hard, he felt like it was going to explode from his chest. The last thing he remembered was stepping through the oaken doors and being terrified out of his mind that he had done something wrong. He tried to recall what had happened in the throne room, but the memories were all blank.

Sighing, he stood up and pushed the rug back where he had remembered it previously lying, folded the blanket and sheet, and dragged his normal chair from the dining table back over to the side of his master's bed. He plopped down in it and began talking to the prince, hoping that somewhere in his mind he could hear Will. He had done this for every day that Merlin had been unconscious in the forest and in Camelot, alike, and he put his hand in the prince's for comfort.

"Hey, Merlin. It's me, Will. You've been in Camelot for three days now, I think. It's a new day, bright and early, but the odd thing is that I can't understand what happened yesterday. I only remember the morning when I walked into the throne room, then..." the servant sighed, shrugging, "...nothing. I didn't feel achy when I woke up, just a small headache, so the only thing I could think of was if they battered me over the head. But I don't have a head wound, so if they did hit me in the head, it probably wouldn't actually give me a headache.

"I saw the royals. They where all sitting there like perfect little statues all in a row; Princess Morgana, Queen Igraine, King Uther, and Prince Arthur. you should have seen them. They looked larger than life, like the ones you see in books and legends! It was amazing. I wish I could remember if I had interacted with them." There was a light knock at the door, but when Will went to open it, he felt Merlin's hand squeeze his hand. He froze in shock, staring at his hand gripping his masters.

"Merlin!" He gasped, smiling so wide that it hurt until he saw a tear trickle out of the Prince's eye. "Merlin?"

"They're gone." Merlin whispered, tears falling out of the corners of his eyes, his lip trembling. "My parents, Owen, Trevor, Gwaine, Mark, Percival, Devan, Harold, Lancelot, Freya," his voice broke, but he kept on listing names, "Emily, Evan, Nathaniel, Janet, Kira, Hannah, Rebecca, Harry..." and on and on he went, recalling every person he remembered and had been friends with at some point, which was most of the kingdom. With every name, Will flinched as he remembered their faces and experiences that he had had with them. "They're all gone, aren't they?"

"No, sire," Will's eyes were filled with tears, "But most of them are gone and I can't guarantee the lives of others," he pushed back the tears, "but there _are_ a few, that I know for a fact, who are alive. Percival, Gwaine, and Lancelot made it out in time."

Merlin looked up at his servant, tears pouring down his face. "Will," He cried, his voice husky, "I don't know how much more I can take."

"How much more of what?"

"Death and destruction. And war." He sobbed. "It's terrible."

Will held out his arms and Merlin launched himself into the hug, sobbing into Wills only good shirt. 'It doesn't matter.' He told himself. 'The shirt will dry, but his pain will never deplete.' The servant held his master for what seemed like forever, until the prince stopped crying.

"We're only boys, Will. We were babes in arms a just a few years ago, it seems. How can we live through all of these horrors and still live long, full lives?" He asked the servant, his eyes still red, his voice laden with sadness. He sounded lost, alone, unable to function. Will did the only thing he knew would help the prince. He listened and comforted him with soothing sounds, rubbing his back until he had completely calmed down. When the two boys looked up, the three knights stood at the end of the bed. Lancelot looked at the prince, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly opened in shock. Gwaine looked happy for seeing his friend awake and slightly drunk. Percival, as always, looked neutral.

"You're... You're back." Stammered Lancelot, the corners of his mouth twitching upward as he spoke.

"I told you so." Gwaine sashayed over to the Prince's side and put his hand on his shoulder. "I knew he would wake up, didn't I?" He looked at Percival, who nodded and rolled his eyes, yet was silent, per usual.

"Y-Yes. I'm still here." Merlin smiled slightly, looking absolutely tiny on the ginormous bed. "I don't know whether or not that's a good thing, but I'm still very much alive.

"Of course it's good!" Gwaine threw his head back and laughed. "Where else would I get all of the money I need at the tavern?"

"And who would keep us commoners as knights?" Lancelot said with a slight smile.

"And there is no one more worthy than you that I would gladly give my life for." Percival stepped forward, surprising the whole group.

Merlin sat back in his bed closing his eyes and sighing, his eyebrows scrunched with sorrow, but his posture looking slightly better. He was pale and thinner than he was before. Right now, he actually looked more like a starving peasant than a prince but when he was home (when he _had _a home to go to), with his cloak around his shoulders, that boy was a sight to behold.

His cobalt blue, bright, lively eyes were flecked with gold and with his blue cloak trailing behind him, he was still one of the kindest and bravest men anyone could ever meet. He was humble, yet his aura flickered with power which made most people drawn to the strong, gentle boy. No person was ever turned down by the prince no matter how poor and he didn't insist on anyone paying him even though most people wanted to. His brilliance and kindness had spread through the kingdom in a matter of weeks, and soon, people from all over Albion came to see the Prince. Will could see how much it drained him to go around performing minor miracles for everyone he met, yet he had never been happier in his life. Now, his people were dead and gone, and all he worked for had turned to dust, ashes, and blood in the streets. It was tearing him apart.

Will left Merlin with his knights for a few minutes to go and get some food for him. He brought a heavy plate laden with all of Merlin's favorite foods and watched as his Prince's face lit up as he caught sight of the tray. The servant placed the tray down on his masters' legs and sat back down in his chair. The knights were having a serious discussion on the side about some trivial things like drinking laws and Merlin was eating happily, stuffing everything he could into his mouth.

"Merlin?" Merlin looked at his servant, his cheeks puffed out with food. "You're going to get a stomachache." The prince stared unhappily at his servant (who was trying so hard not to laugh) as he chewed slowly and finally swallowed the whole mouthful. Will paused for a second, closing his eyes and scrunching his eyebrows together in concentration, his smile melting off of his face. "There was one name which I noticed that you had not mentioned." Merlin looked down at his lap, chewing another bite of food. "Your little brother. Mordred."

Merlin looked up in shock. For a minute, his now dull eyes developed their normal happy glow which faded as quickly as it had come making Will wonder if it was just his imagination. The prince swallowed his food, pushing the now empty tray off of his lap and on to the other side of the bed. "He's alive."

"What?!" Will stood up so fast that the chair fell over. "Are you sure?"

The raven haired boy nodded seriously. "He managed to contact me when I was asleep. He sounded panicked and he told me that he was coming this way with bad men. He was caught by someone. Bandits, thieves, possibly Cenred's army, it could be anyone! Luckily, if he comes here, I'll be able to protect him."

Just as Will opened his mouth, King Uther and Prince Arthur came barreling through the doors, Princess Morgana close behind.

"Prince Merlin of Essetir. I've heard so much about you through my letters to your father and your magical abilities are legendary." Will got up and slunk into the shadows as the King sat down in the chair that he had previously occupied. "Igraine will meet you in a few days. Right now, she is helping Gaius, the court physician, with his medical practices. I thought that you would be here with your younger brother, but don't worry. We'll find him if he's still out there."

"No, please, sire!" Merlin sat straight up in bed, his eyes wide and insistent. "He can only speak with other sorcerers or warlocks. He will only speak through telepathy and no one has ever known why. He's panicked right now because someone caught him in the woods. He described them as 'bad men' but _they are coming to Camelot!_ You won't be able to find him. If they want to keep hidden, they'll use his magic to cloak themselves." Merlin got up shakily out of bed with Uther helping him. "Let him come to us. It's the easiest way. That way they won't hurt him, sire." Even though Merlin was weak and still in his bed clothes, anyone could tell that he was a leader, even next to one of the most powerful kings of Albion.

Princess Morgana's lips trembled. "Last night, I had a nightmare of a young child of about six years of age with bright blue eyes and black hair. He was chained to a cage, but relatively unharmed." Everyone went silent and turned to her. "He was with bounty hunters who were coming to Camelot to sell him as the child of a bandit, one who killed several men, but in his hand he held the crest of the Ambrosius's, the crest of King Balinor's family. But one of the bounty hunters saw the red cloak of Camelot and overreacted, thinking that they were going to kill him to get to the boy. The bounty hunter... slit the boys neck and he choked to death within minutes." Merlin's magic instinctively reached out to hers and the witch turned her eyes on the Prince in confusion, sensing his magic mingling with hers.

'I mean no harm,' he whispered inside of her mind, 'but how did you manage to see my brother in your dreams?'

'I... I don't know.' she looked at him intensely, emerald meeting with sapphire. 'I've had these visions for as long as I can remember. They're like dreams, but in color, much more vivid, and I can't forget them unless I help the poor soul who is reaching out to me. I'm a seer.'

The corners of Merlin's mouth twitched up. 'I know.'

"Alright." Prince Arthur clapped his hands loudly, making Merlin and Morgana both jump and bowed his head to the other Prince. "Now that the awkward staring contest is over, we welcome you to Camelot and we hope you enjoy your stay. Now, if you'll please excuse me, I have training to go to. I'll see you around." And with that, he stormed out of the room, his father looking after him, scandalized.

"Please excuse my sons rude behavior." He apologized, glaring after the teenager.

Merlin laughed. "It's fine. It just shows me who to try to avoid at all costs!" Uther glared at the raven haired prince, who shrunk back towards the bed. "I'm so sorry, sire. My mistake."

"He's not normally like this." Explained Uther, his features relaxing slightly. "His mother is able to keep him on the right track."

"I understand, sire."

With a sigh, Uther walked towards the door, then turned back to Merlin. "Because I was such good friends with your father, you and your little brother, when he gets here, may stay in this castle for as long as you want, even if that means forever. We will try to take back Essetir castle and when we do, you are welcome to live there and rule as their king. If we don't," Uther paused for a second, clenching his jaw and trying to hide any emotion that showed on his face. "we will understand."

Uther walked out of the room and Morgana glanced one more time at Merlin before leaving with her father.

'I have to get out of here before I go insane out of worry for my brother.' The sorcerer prince thought before stretching and yawning.

"Hey, Will?" Merlin smiled at his servant.

"Yeah?"

"What do you say about a walk around Camelot?"

* * *

_Heya, my friends! This is **definitely **the last update before my school starts, so DON'T EXPECT ANOTHER UPDATE SO SOON! I'll probably write one for each month or two as I think I said in the beginning. Just know that I **will** be trying my hardest to write and spit these out as fast as I can. As I have probably said before as well, I'm writing another story, but this other story is going REALLY SLOWLY because its an original, so know that if I don't update within a week, I'm still writing this, I'm just REALLY busy!  
So, Arthur's an ass, Merlin is awesome, and Morgana is nice, just like season one, but UNLIKE season one, Uther is actually pretty cool. Stay tuned for the next chapter, when Arthur and Merlin meet again. Will they fight? Will they get along? WHO KNOWS? I do!  
Right now, sleep hasn't been very good to me and I'm practically falling asleep while writing this IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, so if there are mistakes, I would love to know! God, I'm so tired. I wish that I could just sleep and sleep until all of my tiredness was out of my system, but alas, that's not what my internal body clock says. It tells me to get up early and to fall asleep at midnight. Damn summer messed up everything (except my mental health which is very much improved since last year, even though I had another panic attack from just thinking about school and had to call my friend to talk me through it.)! Tomorrow is another kind of early wake up day, so as soon as I get home, I'm gonna fall asleep on my couch and not wake up until dinnertime.  
Please review and tell me how I'm doing. I would REALLY appreciate it!  
Review Responses:  
mersan123: You are so awesome! Thank you so much for both reviews. Reviews like this keep me writing!  
waszka098: Thank you for the second review and for keeping up with this story! Yeah, I actually took William from the show and tweaked his character until it seemed a bit more to the story line. I always hated that Will died in the show, so I brought him back in this one, although I'm not sure if he'll live through this one or not...  
Guest: Wow! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. It means a lot to me. Every single review and reader counts!  
All: You guys are all truly awesome people!  
Thanks for reading and see ya next time!_

_REM_


	4. The Temporary Escape

_Nope. Still don't own Merlin._

* * *

As the week went on, Merlin got more and more restless in his chambers. He had gotten only one good look through Camelot because Gaius had confined him to the room ever since the Princes conscious medical examination, declaring that he was not well enough to go out into the city yet and it was driving both him and Will mad for different reasons.

"Merlin!" Will hissed as he plopped the Princes dry clothing basket on the bed. "For the last time, _sit down_ before you hurt yourself! The physician-"

"Oh forget about him!" Merlin was pacing like a tiger trapped in a small cage. "My _brother_ is still out there and what am I doing to help him? NOTHING! I'm not even able to go out and help search for him."

"That's because you're hurt." Will glared at his master as he folded his clothes. Merlin subconsciously rubbed his injured shoulder and for a moment, there was a tense silence.

"I don't care that my arm is a little sore. I've had worse!"

"But you've never gotten this close to the grave."

"I DON'T CARE!" Merlin felt a twist in his gut as his magic kicked in and his cobalt eyes turned gold. The servant was tossed a foot in the air and his body collided with the hard stone with a loud CRACK. The boy gasped and brushed his hand against the back of his head, his wide eyes pointing to his former friend. The Prince pointed to the door and growled one last word. "Leave."

Will's eyes fell to the ground and he bowed low to the Prince. "Yes, sire." He slipped out the door and bit his lip, tears shining in his eyes. Even though he knew it was just his master dealing with the loss of his family, he couldn't believe that Prince Merlin had used magic against him in anger. Inside of the room, he heard wood smashing against stone and glass shattering into a million pieces. Then, suddenly there was a short silence followed by the muffled a small thump. The sound of muffled sobbing began and the servant peeked in to see his master curled up in a ball on the floor, his hands covering his ears and his forehead pressed against the ground. His body shook with each sob. Almost everything in his room had been shattered into a million fragments which now coated the floor in splintered wood and shattered glass. Quietly, the servant closed the door once more and went down to the kitchen to get Prince Merlin's lunch. When he came back, his master was at the window, staring longingly out at the courtyard filled with people. The room looked as if the Prince hadn't just destroyed everything that was not nailed to the floor. The princes nose was bright red and tear tracks stained his cheeks. He looked like his true age and Will knew how much he was hurting. He placed down the tray and Merlin turned to the sound, surprised, his eyes widening with regret when he saw his servant.

"I'm sorry, Will." Merlin mumbled looking at his feet. "I shouldn't have lashed out. It was my mistake. I just feel so useless and helpless and my brother is out there probably fighting for his life or trapped in a cage somewhere. I can't just sit here and wait for a sign! If they want to know where to find him, they are missing their best weapon. Me." Merlin stepped forward and donned a look of determination. He looked like he was back to his old self and Will almost smiled. "I may be able to sense his very distinct kind of magic."

"Sire, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to walk around the town today?" The corner of Will's mouth flickered up and Merlin tilted his head to the side, his eyes full of confusion.

"But... I'm not supposed to..."

"That's why I brought this!" Will went over to his bag and pulled out his long, dark, royal blue cloak and Merlin's eyes lit up slightly.

He rushed over and took it in his arms before throwing it over his shoulders as his eyes dimmed back to their now normal misery. "Let's go find my brother."

"Sire?" Will gripped Merlin's arm and looked into the prince's eyes. "We still need to be careful. The king's son, Prince Arthur is near the edge of the city, where we'll be going. The forest there is thick and riddled with thieves and bandits. If your brother is in danger, he would most likely be there."

Merlin nodded, flicking up his large hood. It completely cast his face into shadow and he grinned, his eyes glowing slight gold and making them look like specs of light in the midst of the inky midnight black. Will had mended the cloak so that it looked as good as new and the blue material trailed behind him as he spun, the material hanging from his shoulders to the floor like a waterfall cascading around his thin body. He went over to a full sized mirror which had hung, unused, in the chambers for so long that dust coated the reflective surface completely. The prince brushed it off with the extra fabric of his sleeve and looked at his image. He lifted his head, keeping his back completely straight, and squared his shoulders. Looking back to his servant, he gestured to his clothes and Will nodded, smiling a crooked smile.

"We haven't had to sneak out in such a long time." He walked over to the door and opened it for his master. When the cloaked Prince passed, Ganymede reached out for his shoulder but with a flash of the Prince's eyes, the guard tumbled to the ground, unconscious. Will checked his pulse, laid him down flat and whispered in his new friends' ear, "I'm so sorry, but we need to go. You'll understand when we come back."

The guard groaned in his sleep and shifted, curling up on his side and pressing his face into the ground and Will ran back into the princes room, grabbed a towel, and placed it under the guards' head so that his face wouldn't get scratched up.

"Will!" The Princes' whisper made his servants' shot, and he ran towards Merlin who stood a few feet away, frantically beckoning to him. "We have to move quickly if we want to get out of here before they find that I'm gone, then double the guard and close the gates. Let's GO!" He grabbed Will's wrist and began to run through the halls, his long cloak trailing behind them. By the time they reached the tall stone back gate of the castle, the Warlock Prince was gasping and stumbling, sweat pouring from his brow. His friend grasped him by the arm and sat him down on the grass next to the wall, ignoring the Prince's protests.

"Sire, you need to rest! You're still healing." Will begged but his prince shook his head frantically.

"No, I need to find my brother." Merlin got his feet under him, but he stumbled and his servant caught him before he fell, his hood pushing back, revealing his clenched jaw and painful wince. He gripped his shoulder where Will knew he had been burned. When he tilted his head forward, the hood fell back in place, covering his face in a mysterious darkness once more. "I'm fine." His voice was strained, but he pushed away from Will and walked on. His servant trailed behind him like a second shadow and they began to walk away from the castle and towards the trees. A voice called out from behind them, but Merlin was too preoccupied with putting one foot in front of the other and trying to find his brothers magic that he barely noticed it until he saw Will stop in the corner of his eye, his foot on a wooden target which the other servant, Morris was scrambling towards.

"Hey, c'mon now." Will put his hands on his hips. "That's enough."

The golden haired prince glared at the new servant. With one glance at Morris, he stepped towards Will. "What?"

"You've had your fun, my friend." He crossed his arms and glanced towards Merlin, who nodded approvingly. Helping the ones who couldn't help themselves was always the Ambrosious way.

With a huff, Arthur's eyebrow crawled up his forehead. "Do I know you?"

"Well, I don't believe so. I'm Will." The servant extended his arm, but Camelot's Prince just kept his eyes fixed on his face. His goonies watched the exchange silently.

"So, I don't know you."

"Not really. No."

"And yet you called me 'friend'?"

Will laughed slightly. "That was my mistake."

Arthur turned back to his followers and said over his shoulder. "Yes, I think so."

"Yeah. I never had a friend who could be such an ass." Merlin laughed as Arthur's minions "oooooooh"ed. The prince froze in his tracks, his back tensing with anger.

The dark haired prince went up to Will and grabbed his arm gently, pulling him away from the hostile prince.

"Or I one who could be so stupid." Both Merlin and Will froze in their tracks. "Tell me, _Will,_" He spat the name as if it were dirt, "do you know how to walk on your knees?"

Merlin's eyebrow lifted. Was that supposed to be a threat, or...

Will thought for a moment, his face twisting in confusion. "No." He said, carefully.

"Would you like me to show you?" Arthur stepped forward, his friends egging him on. The cloaked prince stepped in front of his servant, anger permeating through his body.

"I wouldn't if I were you." The younger prince said, his voice low and threatening.

"Why? What are you going to do to me?" The golden haired prince took in Merlin's cloaked appearance. "Flash some lights at me?"

"Oh, you have no idea." Merlin growled through his clenched teeth. His energy was completely and utterly focused on the other prince, so when Will crept back in front, the warlock didn't see him until the boy took a swing at the Prince, who ducked backward and twisted Will's arm painfully behind him. The servant groaned in agony, his face tight with pain, and the cloaked warlock felt the power bubbling up in his stomach from his rage. He let it go and as he felt his eyes glow, Arthur was thrown five feet in the air. The warlock smiled cruelly and out stretched his arm, focusing the flow of magic through his fingertips. When he let the magic go again, it was all focused on one point. That was Arthur. The prince floated over his friends and as Merlin watched him struggle, he didn't notice the hood falling back from his face, allowing everyone there to know exactly who he was. His servant tugged at his sleeve and the warlocks concentration broke, making Arthur plummet to the ground as his 'friends' didn't even try to catch him.

"Prince Merlin." Arthur pushed himself back up, a hateful grin plastered on his face. "What a surprise."

"Prince Arthur." Merlin sent him a hateful smile back. "What an arse."

"Why you-" the blond launched himself at the raven-haired boy, but his friends held him back and he growled in frustration. With a smirk, Merlin turned around and began walking towards the forest, Will following closely behind.

"I didn't expect the prince of Camelot to act like such a pig!" Merlin growled.

"I know what you mean." Will agreed and there was a short silence after that. They walked together for a while, reveling in each others company and allowing the sounds of the forest to go undisturbed. A deer walked up to the cloaked prince and began to walk along side of him and within five minutes, the two friends were walking with and followed by several animals including rabbits, deer, foxes, and even a few raccoons. A falcon flew down an perched on the princes' shoulder and he remembered what his father had told him about the animals.

"They can sense your gentleness through the purity of your magic, and Merlin, my boy, you have the most pure magic I have ever felt." Balinor had comforted Merlin after the first time when he went in the forest. The little boy had come home crying to his father about being chased by the animals. Almost half of the forest had found him that day, and he giggled at the memory.

With a sigh, he spread his magic through the forest. Like a flood, it covered every single little bump on every rock in the whole of Camelot's forest, allowing him to see where everything and everyone was located. He felt the travelers, the druids, and every citizen of Camelot so clearly, but what he didn't feel was his brother. The Magic spread itself as far as it could without breaking apart, yet little Mordred still wasn't within his reach. A few moments later, he realized that one of the traveling caravans was dragging a cage on wheels behind one of the horses and he let his magic zero in on it.

Inside of the small cage there was a boy with midnight black hair and sky blue eyes. He wore only a pair of brown trousers and shivered in the cool air. His teeth clacked together and he hugged himself to try and keep warm. There were shackles on his wrists that were etched with druid symbols and bound him to the cart. Anti-magic shackles. Merlin hummed in curiosity and when he pushed through the magical barrier he heard a gasp on the other end.

'Mordred?' Merlin whispered through the link and he felt the boy nod.

'Merlin!' The younger prince cried. 'You got my message!'

'Of course I did.' Merlin grinned and Will sighed with relief. 'Didn't I always tell you that I'd know where you were, and that I'd always protect you, no matter what?'

Mordred hummed in response. 'Are mom and dad with you?'

There was so much hope in the little boy's voice that Merlin was tempted to lie. 'No, they aren't I don't know where they are.'

'Oh.' Merlin felt a wave of grief pass through the connection and he felt a need to change the subject.

'Did they hurt you?'

'Not very badly. They haven't broken any bones. Yet.' The last part was added softly as if he didn't actually want his brother to hear. Merlin felt a deep seated anger fill his lungs and he growled.

'Mordred, listen to me. I will find you. I won't let them-'

"Merlin!" Will's yell cut through the trance like a knife through butter and Merlin shook himself slightly.

"Wha-"

"RUN!"

And run he did. Over the rocks and through the trees, he sprinted as far away as he could from the castle of Camelot. As fast as the animals ran when they heard Will's cry. The heavy footfalls of soldiers spurred the boy on. Just as soon as he thought he lost them, his cloak midnight blue caught on a tree branch and sent him tumbling into a small ditch. He scrambled to get up, but a bag dropped over his head and his hands were tied behind his back. His magic felt logy and he stumbled, nearly falling over several times, but he was caught and propelled forward every time by rough, callused hands and he knew he was going somewhere he didn't want to be.

* * *

When the bag was ripped off, his magic woke up and he was shaken from the tired state. Merlin was on his knees in a throne room about the same size as his was in Essetir's. Uther paced in front of him with his hands folded behind his back. Igraine and Morgana were in their thrones, their eyes wide and pitying unlike Arthur, who looked at the raven haired boy like a tiger looks at its prey.

"Merlin." The king stated, standing directly in front of the cloaked boy. "You have disobeyed me _and _you have hurt my son, Arthur."

"If I may, sire-"

"You may not, boy. You have injured my boy and you have hurt my pride. You are to be put in the dungeons until I say so otherwise. Am I understood?"

"But, sire-"

"**_Am I_ understood****?**" The kings voice echoed in the nearly empty halls and Merlin hung his head.

"Yes, sire."

With that, the Prince of Essetir was dragged, like a common thief, into the dark, dank dungeons and chained to the wall with heavy iron shackles like an animal. He looked closely at his restraints and read the symbols which had been etched into the rough surface.

'Magic blocking restraints.' Merlin laughed sourly to himself. 'I should have known.'

With a groan, he reclined against the scratchy stone and closed his eyes, hoping that the king would free him before it was too late for his brother. Hoping that the bounty hunters wouldn't sell his brother before they reached Camelot. Hoping that someone would, if he wasn't there, realize who his brother truly before the king killed the boy thinking that he was a criminal.

* * *

_Hello again! Did you miss me? A-Are you guys mad at me? Please don't be mad at me! (*makes puppy dog eyes*) I'm updating as fast as I can and, believe me, I know it's not fast enough. I'm just writing sooooo many things at the same time and it's REALLY hard to keep up with everyone's expectations.  
Now, as for this chapter, I'm very sorry this took such a long time. I have been trying to get it done, and I'm sorry for the slap-dash quality, but school has been weighing me down with so much homework! I actually am writing this late at night between assignments when I'm supposed to be working or sleeping, but HEY, at least this is done, right? I was SO happy to see that people didn't forget about me when I took a short break. This month has been crazy and I'm just getting the swing of school, so STAY WITH ME, MY FRIENDS!  
By the way, what do you think of poor Merlin's dilemma here? He knows where his brother is and he has a fair idea of who the people are that have him, BUT, he is trapped in Camelot's dungeons. (I know, people who have read PoD, Uther throws Merlin in the dungeon AGAIN, but at least he's not getting tortured. :) No sympathy) Mordred's future looks like it's gonna be cut short. Arthur hates Merlin. Uther is angry AND married to a kind woman. Morgana is...well, MORGANA. (Don't worry. She'll be a bit more of a central character within the next chapter.) And... I'm very sorry about the lack of Gilli and Damian. (That will ALSO be remedied in the next chapter.)  
__By the way, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! I LOVE YOU PEOPLE! God, I really should go.  
Review replies:  
HollyDawn- Wow! I don't know what to say. Thank you so much! It's people like you who keep me writing this stuff.  
mersan123- OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! You are the only one who has reviewed every chapter so far. Like I said before, I love to write because of people like you.  
Linorien- Are you still waiting? I hope you are! I feel as though Merlin would be calm about most things. He's a very strategical thinker, so even though sometimes he may do very spur of the moment things, he keeps calm and collected through most of their ordeals in the show, so I tried to incorporate that into this fic.  
xAPRAx- Your review actually reminded me to start writing this again, so thank you! I'm still not quite sure why I have to school, either. In kindergarten, I said it was because my parents would go to jail if I didn't go to school, so I'm sticking with that answer. Arthur is about 5 years older than Merlin, so he's around 20.  
Now I really gotta go._

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!  
See ya later! _

_REM_


	5. Deals, Morals, and Magic

_Nope. Merlin isn't mine._

* * *

The first thing that Damian felt when he awoke was pain. Everywhere. The type of pain that feels like strings being plucked under your skin and inside of your bone. The type of pain that makes your eyes water and you know it won't stop until it's done with you. He had felt this several times in his life, and never had he ever wanted to wake up like this again. Yet, it seemed that every time he thought he was in the clear, it happened again.

With a groan, he tried to open his eyes and was rewarded with a horrible splitting headache. He groaned louder and felt the heal of someones hand pressing against his forehead.

"No." The stern, yet quiet and gentle word came from the old physician who he had gotten to know so well. "Let him wake up. It's about time."

"Gai-us." Damian sobbed weakly. "It... hurts."

"I know, my boy. I know." He felt the old man press a vial to his lips and he drank. The foul taste of the pain medication burned his tongue and down his throat, and he gagged, feeling a wave of nausea hit him hard. Quickly, a goblet of water was pressed against his mouth and he drank greedily, the clear liquid washing down the burning horrible taste of the potion. Slowly, the physicians apprentice opened his eyes carefully. Gili leaned over him, a concerned expression on his worried face. His brother watched as his eyes adjusted to the light, and he smiled at the older boy, who launched himself at his brother.

"Thank the gods!" The sorcerer cried, his arms wrapped around Damian's neck. "I am never letting you out of my sight again."

Damian laughed, but groaned as it made pain shoot through the left side of his head. "What if I need to pee or... the other thing."

Gili turned bright red. "Well, almost never."

The sound of chopping made the boys turn their head. A boy with soft features and kind eyes stood at the table chopping herbs, then putting the leaves in the mortar and grinding them into the small stone bowl. He was so focused on his work that he didn't notice their questioning stares for about five minutes. Gaius descended down the steps which lead up to a guest bedroom, his hands full of thin blankets, which he passed to Gili who placed them over his brother with a glance, his eyes not willing to leave the new boy just yet. The old man walked over to the table, looked at the mixture in the mortar and nodded, clearly pleased with whatever he was making.

"Who are you?" The stranger jumped when Damian spoke, his green eyes meeting the apprentices brown ones. For a second, there was a silence as the boy ground a few leaves thoroughly into the mixture, his brown wrinkling in concentration.

"I'm Will. I came in to assist Gaius because of your condition." He shrugged, his emerald eyes flicking towards him, then back to his work. "I'm the personal manservant of Prince Merlin of Essetir, who has currently gone temporarily missing. He wasn't in his rom when I checked on him. Nor was he anywhere I thought he would be. A guard told me that the physician needed an assistant for a while until you recovered and I'm currently out of work, so I thought it was a pretty good deal."

"The Prince of Essetir is here?" Damian's face went as white as a sheet, fear gripping his heart. His head spun and he nearly fell down before Gili lowered him down to the cot. When he opened his eyes again, Will pressed a cool wet towel against his forehead.

"Don't hurt yourself!" The manservant smiled kindly at the frightened boy, wiping the sweat from his brow. "You've been out for a few days now, from what I heard. You have to take everything a lot slower than you would normally." Just as Will finished the sentence, the door slammed open revealing the irritated Prince of Camelot, who squinted hatefully at the foreigner.

"Where's Gaius?" The golden haired teen glared at the three boys. Will stood up and went back to the wooden table, painfully aware of the fact that the prince was nearly drilling a hole in his shoulder from his powerful glare.

"He is currently out. I can help you with what ever you need." The Essetiran manservant kept his neutral gaze on the hostile prince.

"Are you sure you aren't too simple-minded?" He sneered.

"Gaius seems to think I'm not, so I'll go by his ruling."

The brothers watched the exchange with wide eyes, absorbing every single word. They had never heard someone talk to someone of higher authority like this, never mind a peasant to a prince.

"Well, then." He gestured towards his manservant who bit his cheek to keep from whimpering in fear. "When will he be ready for work, again?"

"Not for a while." Will began chopping some more herbs, avoiding the Princes intense gaze. "He's very badly injured."

"But then who's supposed to do his chores?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, as if he didn't care, as if he had other, more important things to think about besides talking to the Prince of the kingdom he was currently residing in. Prince Arthur attempted to use this same calm as he slowly stalked his prey, although his eyes betrayed his anger and irritation, circling the temporary physician's apprentice.

"_You_ are a manservant," he said conversationally, his golden hair shining threateningly in the sunlight. Will nodded, his head not lifting from the small bowl that he was grounding materials in. Arthur stopped directly behind the foreigner, his eyes gleaming with dislike and anger yet his face just as stoic as the boys. "Why don't you do my manservants chores today? Maybe then you'll learn what a servant is supposed to act like."

Will poured the contents of the bowl into a small vial full of water, carefully making sure it didn't spill. "Sorry, I'm busy. Mr. Gaius needs-"

"Don't worry about Gaius. There are plenty other servants that can help him."

"But, sire-"

"Oh, but I insist!" He said with fake enthusiasm, shoving the boy towards the door. "You're only a few years younger than me. It's perfectly fine!"

Will tried to escape back to the table, but the prince caught him by the waist and threw him out the door, slamming it shut behind them. Damian stared after them, his face pale with terror. His eyes were wide and unblinking, fixed on the flimsy wooden door that kept him apart from the Prince of his nightmares. The boy began to tremble, sweat pouring down his neck, as he began to slowly sit up, wincing as he felt pain blossoming in his ribs. Gili looked at his brother for a few moments, his eyes wide in shock before trying to gently push the troubled boy back to the cot. The man servant began to shake his head, his neck movements quickly going from slow to really fast, tears blurring his vision.

"Will no!" He sobbed. "No! He'll kill him, Gili, he will! Will, come back!"

"Damian, calm down! Please!" Gili tried to hold his brother down, but the boy kept on worming out from under his grip. "You'll hurt yourself."

"No! Not another one..." Damian's voice faded as he began to feel weak and clumsy. His body sagged back and Gili gently lowered him down to the cot. With a sigh, the sorcerer put his head in his hands feeling as if he had let his best friend in the world be let down. Again.

* * *

Morgana Pendragon was furious with her father. That new, young prince, Merlin, was in the right and Arthur deserved that butt kicking that he had received, or so SHE had thought. Her heels clicked on the white marble floor as she speed through the arched hallways of her home, her head held high and her hands clasped in front of her. The long blue and purple dress Gwen had put on her that morning hid her pointed shoes and complimented the gold and sapphire necklace that shone brightly between her collar bone, her obsidian locks spilling over her shoulder. As most people said about her, she was like a dragon, beautiful and surreal when calm, but dangerous and cunning when angry.

As she neared the physician's chambers, she saw her brother shove the Essetiran servant out of the door and stumble off in the same way she was heading. Arthur gripped his shoulder tightly and began to walk down the hallway, not once looking back to see his sister. Morgana was tempted to follow them, but she heard sobbing coming from the inside of the physician's chambers. She paused for a second, debating whether to follow her brother or help the one who was sobbing, then bit her lip and pushed the wooden door open. A peasant whose name she remembered as Gilli sat next to the prince's unconscious manservant, his cheeks still stained with tear tracks. The conscious boy held his head in his hands, sniffling softly while rubbing his palms on his forehead as if he had a headache.

Morgana bit her lip and, looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking, used magic to put Gili in a small sound bubble so that he wouldn't hear anything around him. Concentrating half of her energy into the small feat of magic she was performing and the rest on moving across the room and dragging a chair next to him, she was able to get around without him noticing her which is what she wanted. Whenever she made herself known to people, they always acted tougher and as if she was the only one that mattered. She had seen people go from devious to kind in the blink of an eye. Once, she had accidentally walked in on a medical procedure, but when the physician caught sight of her, he dropped his supplies and bowed to her, inquiring about her while his patient died on the cot.

She plopped down into the chair and let the magic go with a sigh of relief. Gili's head flung up in surprise when she placed her hand gently on his back, rubbing in soothing circles. He stared at the King's Ward for a second, his brain processing what he was seeing, then he jumped up and hung his head to avoid looking in her eyes. His swollen, red rimmed, blue eyes were sparkling with tears, but he blinked them away with a slight shake of his head. He rubbed his bright red nose on his dirty sleeve as he sniffed, acting as if he wasn't saddened by the boy lying on the cot who had obviously been beaten badly.

"My lady!" he exclaimed with a quick and slight bow, "Can I help you with something?" He looked around the room. "I'm not very good at healing, but I do know the basics of a physician's practice as well as some magical techniques."

"Oh, no!" Morgana's cheeks reddened as she pulled him back into his seat. "You just looked like you needed someone and..." She trailed off, biting her lip.

Gili gave her a weary look. "Are you sure you're alright, Lady Morgana?"

"Yes. This boy," she gestured at the unconscious servant, "however doesn't look so healthy. Who is he?"

"Damian." The boy said the name with a sob and the King's Ward put her arm around his shoulders. "He's my brother."

For a few moments, all that was heard throughout the chambers was Gili's soft sniffling until Morgana broke the silence. "It was _my_ brother wasn't it? The one who hurt Damian."

Hesitantly, Gili nodded.

"Irritating prick." She growled in frustration.

Suddenly, a groan arose from the boy on the cot and the two people jumped in surprise. As he began to slowly awaken, curling in on himself and moaning in pain, Gili began panicking.

"I-I-I don't know what to do!"

"Gili-"

"I thought he wasn't going to wake up because he just wore himself out-"

"GILI, I think-"

"-so much that he knocked himself-"

"GILI!" Morgana practically screamed in his face and the peasant froze, shocked. "I think you should let him wake up. Plus, I know someone who would like to meet him." The boy looked at her with uncertainty. He wasn't sure that his brother would be able to see anyone due to his current condition for some time now. Morgana noted this concern and quickly added, "He may be able to heal Damian's arm."

"Really?" Gili's look became one of delight and hope. "Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Gili stared at the woman in amazement and Damian groaned, blinking, his eyes going in and out of focus. "Why do you want to help me?"  
Morgana looked at him with compassion, a slight smile touching her lips.

"You looked sad."

* * *

The dark, dank cell was quiet, the sound of fast breathing and dripping water. The chains around Merlin's wrists clinked together as he shivered, his teeth clattering together. It wasn't like he was isolated. In fact the queen, herself, had come to talk to him. She had apologized for the king chaining him to the wall like a dog and had said she had tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen.

"It was like talking to a brick wall." She had said. "He wouldn't budge on this issue even if I had pushed him."

And it had been fun talking to the regal woman. She was stunningly beautiful and dressed in a flowing dark purple dress, precious jewels woven into the fabric, a golden crown resting atop her perfect golden curls. Her face was only slightly wrinkled and still the very picture of beauty. Her kind blue eyes made him feel like he could trust her with anything, yet still he felt restrained. The warlock wished he didn't feel so held back when her calming presence had left the dungeons, leaving him in the cold, silent darkness. As the time ticked on, his mind began to wander. He thought of all of the darkness in his life; what happened to his family, what would happen to him if he got caught, what they were doing to his brother, and what they were going to do with Essetir after they were done with the princes. They being the barbarians; Cenred's army and sorcerers. Finally, as he was just falling asleep, the clicking of pointed heels from down the hallway caught his attention. The woman seemed to be walking at a surprisingly slow pace towards his cell. Merlin brushed off his dirty shirt, cloak, and trousers, and fixed his necekr before the Lady Morgana stepped out in front of the bars, her and a sorcerer holding up what looked to be a servant between them.

"Morgana!" Merlin scrambled to get up, the chains clinking and scraping his wrists raw and bloody. "I wasn't expecting you."

"Well," she pursed her lips, her Irish lilt more prominent to the Prince than usual "I'm sorry to hear that you think so little of me."

"Oh, no. No, no, I didn't mean that at all. I just-"

"Never mind that." She gestured towards the injured boy, who whimpered in response. "My brother used my friend as a punching bag and has now taken your servant, as well. Can you heal him? It's just a broken arm."

The warlock bit his lip. "I don't know."

The peasant slammed his hands on the bars, making Merlin flinch back.

"PLEASE!" He growled, his voice dangerously close to tears. "You need to help him. He's my brother. I can't lose him!"

"Look, I-"

"I'll look after your servant for you." The Kings Ward promised, slight anger and worry shining in her eyes. "I'll make it so that you don't have to worry about him being hurt by Arthur ever again."

"And how are you going to do that?!" The raven haired prince raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know! I'll figure it out!"

"Fine." He crossed his arms, the chain links jingling together. "But someone has to either figure out how to get at least one of these chains off of me or break the symbols, and someone needs to lay the boy on the bed I'm my arms reach." Merlin walked as close to the bars as he could and knelt down so that the boy could see him.

"Hey." The kindly prince smiled at the fearful boy, his voice gentle and soft. "Just hang on. I'll try to help you as much as I possibly can. What's your name?"

"Damian." He whispered, the word slurred and nearly incomprehensible.

"Well, Damian, it's nice to meet you. I'm Merlin."

The boy nodded, exhausted and confused and just wanting to go home.

Merlin stood back up, looking the sorcerer straight in the eye. "You should go. It's getting late."

Morgana nodded, muttering a "Thank you" over her shoulder as they left the darkness of the dungeon.

* * *

When Morgana arrived at her chamber that night, she looked stressed and agitated. She was happy to see her maidservant, Gwen, who had been helping Gaius for a few days, but a she could do was weakly smile at her friend as she glided quickly over to the chair, her legs wobbling underneath her. The olive skinned girl smiled back at her mistress, taking note on her distress as she hung up another dress, grabbing the nearest hanger and slipping it into a velvety warm fabric, it's long sleeves bordered with puffy furs. It was long, dark, and soft both inside and out. In fact, Gwen had made it herself a few months after she got the job for the Lady Morgana and, wanting to impress her Lady, she had set it down on the table next to the vase of flowers she had collected. She had stood awkwardly in the middle of the room for a full ten minutes, having finished her chores before finishing the garment, and, being the awkward teenager that she was, started tapping and humming a melody quietly to herself. When the King's Ward had at last arrived, a large smile on her young, king face, she had seen the black dress and her eyes had gone wide with shock, dropping the small, unbreakable vial of nightmare medication, she gasped and with a big smile, grabbed the dress on the table.

"Wow!" Her smile was so wide that Gwen could count her teeth. It was one of Morgana's first few months at Camelot, slightly closer to a year, but in that time period, she stuck with the same maid, unlike her "brother", Arthur, who had gone through 5 servants of his own within that very same timeframe. She twirled around with the dress until she got tangled in it, causing her and her maidservant to burst out in laughter.

When the Prince burst through the doorway and saw both girls on the floor with tears pouring out of their eyes laughing as hard as humanly possible, he blushed and called out, "Morgana, the King requests your presence, so when you're done messing around you can get up, make yourself presentable, and head to the throne room."

She looked up in surprise, her face changing from elation to cold, hard, neutrality. "Oh, do be quiet, Arthur." She stood up and brushed herself off. "Just because you don't know how to have fun doesn't mean that no one else is allowed to."

The regal girl held her head high as she walked out of the room, her nose in the air despite her obvious avoidance of Arthur's glare. "And at least _try_ to act like a lady."

His words seemed to spur Morgana on and she quickly turned the corner. Nevertheless, he caught sight of the glistening tears of rage in her eyes. The Prince furrowed his eyebrows and tried to understand why she was crying. He didn't say anything mean, insulting, or degrading to her. He didn't hurt her. So, then, why where there tears on her face? He shook his head in bewilderment. Maybe, there would be a day when he understood females, but it would not come any day soon, Arthur knew that.

"It's because you caught her playing around," The boy spun in shock to see Morgana's servant girl putting a new, black dress in the wardrobe, "and you told her that she wasn't good enough because of it, Sire."

Arthur looked at the girl- the _servant_ in disgust. "Did I ask you?"

"No, Sire." The small girl kept her gaze on the floor as she turned slowly towards him. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she kept tears in, her hands shaking and her face pale with fear. "I'm- I'm sorry, Sire. I just thought that you looked confused and I know you've never had a sister before and I just wanted-"

"Alright. But next time you talk to me without me permission, I will have you punished. Especially if you say something like that. And if I ask you a question, I expect you to respond in a simple, 'Yes, Sire' or 'No, Sire'. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sire."

He nodded and with one last glare over his shoulder, he left the chamber and Gwen took a huge sigh of relief. After that traumatizing event, every time any Prince talked to her, she remembered Arthur's fierce glare and his instructions. But Morgana was a different story. She was kind and considerate, brave and loyal.

These traits were reflected in the Queen and King, as well. King Uther was cold and distant while Ygraine was warm and friendly.

She shook her head to anchor her to reality, sighing and grabbing another hanger, preparing to hang up another dress when she noticed her pale, black haired friend giving her an odd look. Gwen flicked back a dark lock of hair behind her shoulder and looked up, giving her a questioning glance.

"Gwen..." Morgana slyly glanced at her friend from the corner of her eye. "Your father is a blacksmith, is he not?"

"Yes, My Lady?" The maidservant was confused as she wiped her sweaty hands on her apron and cotton dress, her curly black hair escaping the ponytail lock by lock.

Morgana raised and inquisitive eyebrow. "And are you familiar with his trade?"

Gwen smiled. "Of course, My Lady."

"Have you ever learned how to... pick a lock or... possibly... engrave something onto a metal chain?"

"Um, yes, actually, m'Lady. It was actually quite fun. Th-The lock picking. Engraving is a different story."

Morgana smiled and clapped her hands together, startling Gwen as she jumped a few inches into the air. "Then, you'll love this job that I have for you, although, you can't let anyone know about it. Not even your father."

"Go on, ma'am." Gwen sat down across from Morgana and the royals smile grew.

"Do you know the servant Damian and his brother Gili?" Gwen nodded, her expression growing worried. "Well, he broke his arm pretty badly and he won't be able to use it again unless it's fixed with powerful magic. My magic isn't anywhere near as strong as it would have to be to heal it, but Prince Merlin's, on the other hand, has more magic than I will probably every know. I don't think that even _he_ knows what he's capable of. He has agreed to help us if I can insure his manservants safety, but to help, he needs to get one of the chains off of his wrist so he can channel his magic. Do you think you could get us into the cell and get the manacle off of his wrist?"

A cat like grin stretched across her face. "Of course, My Lady."

"I'm sorry to interrupt your little scheming fest here," a familiar, male voice coming from the doorway startled them and the women turned around to see Prince Arthur leaning on the doorpost, his legs and arms crossed, "but that plan is rubbish."

"Arthur!" Morgana growled, shooting a powerful glare at her half brother to hide the blush of anger that crept up her cheeks. Gwen lowered her head and stood up, backing away from the table.

"I mean, what about the guards? What about the others in the dungeons? What if someone attacks you and tries to kill you?" The Lady took a knife from her high heeled boot. "Well, I guess that solves that problem. But what if you run into someone in the hallways? What if Father realizes that you're trying to help the Prince escape and catches you in the act, then throws you in there as well?"

"I was going to get someone else to help me, like Gili."

"Who?"

"Damian's brother."

"That man is _rubbish_ with a sword."

"But he has magic."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Then, who's going to carry my servant?"

Morgana turned her head away, crossing her legs as she sat in the carefully designed oaken chair. "I don't know."

"Alright." The prince pushed away from the door way and entered the room. "Then let me help. I'll deal with the guards and any other trouble we'll experience. Get your cloaks, both of you. We're going on a 'ride'. Let's go tell Father."

* * *

The small crowd of hooded figures entered the dungeon, Damian and Gili limping slowly behind the rest. They began to descend own the stone stairway and the two, sweaty, worried looking guards.

"Halt!" One of them held up a large hand and Prince Arthur lowered his crimson hood.

"Gentlemen!" He smiled warmly. "What can I do for you today?"

The plumper one gasped. "Please excuse us, Your Majesty. It was just our orders."

"I understand. May we please continue? These are some friends of mine. We were going to apologize to Prince Merlin before Morgana and I went for a ride."

"Yes. Yes of course."

The golden-haired man looked at them for a minute. "You two look thirsty. Why don't you two get a drink while we're here. We'll keep order down here." He threateningly slipped his sword an inch out of its sheath and the guards flinched back. "Drinks on me."

"Of course, Sire. Thank you, Sire." And with that, the two men were off to the tavern. Later that day, they would be found, passed out in an alleyway with no recollection of how they got there and a horrible hangover.

Arthur motioned for Morgana, Gili, Damian, and Gwen to go before him, and the Kings Ward surged forward with her maidservant close behind, pushing their hoods back. The peasants followed behind them, limping and breathing hard (Gili had taken most of Damian's weight onto his shoulder, and Damian was still injured, clutching the broken arm in the sling). Lastly, Arthur followed cautiously, his sword outdrawn as he eyed the other occupied cages.

When they arrived at Merlin's cage, he stood at the back, facing the tiny window that shined the minuscule amount of light into the dark dungeons. As he heard the clicking of Morgana's heels stop at his cage, he spun around, quite surprised to see the small crowd of people she had gathered for him.

"You again!" He crossed his arms when he saw the other Prince, who nodded yet held his head high, allowing for Merlin to clearly read his emotions.

"I never meant to get you into this amount of trouble." The golden haired boy shifted uncomfortably, obviously trying to make amends without sounding 'weak'. Merlin thought for a minute, then nodded, satisfied with the apology.

"I hope we may become friends in the near future."

The golden haired Prince gestured to the lock, and the maidservant cleared her throat. Gwen knelt down and pulled two wires out of her hair, carefully pushing them into the lock and within a minute, the door swung open. The raven haired Prince grinned at the maidservant as she glanced nervously at him. Morgana's eyebrows scrunched together when Gwen didn't immediately rush forward to unchain the man.

"What's wrong, Gwen?" She asked her servant who shook her head.

"He's a powerful sorcerer." Gwen bit her lip. "Are you really sure he should be out? He could hurt people." Merlin's face fell and he looked at the maid, surprised.

"Nonsense!" Morgana scoffed. "He's a good person. _Mer_lin wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"But..." She glanced at Arthur and whispered to her mistress, "What about Prince Arthur?"

"Gwen..." The Camelotian Prince looked at the maid. "It's Gwen, right?"

"Guinevere, My Lord." She clasped her hands in front of her, her cheeks burning and eyes towards the floor.

"It wasn't his fault, and frankly, I deserved it, after what I've done.." He went on, keeping his eyes on the _surprisingly_ beautiful servant. "I had it coming. Even my own mother thinks it was just."

She nodded and knelt down again, slipping the lock picks into the keyhole, and with a few clicks and one last shove, one manacle came off of his wrist. "I'm keeping the other one on for safety."

Merlin nodded, touching the raw, inflamed skin around his arm. "Thank you very much, Gwen. Is my servant safe, Morgana?"

"Yes." Arthur answered for her. "He's doing some laundry right now."

With another nod, the foreigner gestured to his cot. "Gili, could you bring Damian over here, please?"

The two peasants limped over to the cot and Gili placed his brother on the mat with a sigh of relief. The Essetiran prince walked over to the cot and held his hand over Damian, parallel to his chest. He mumbled, "**Atgyweirua hon bachgen hanafu.**" and his eyes turned bright gold. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Sweat began to bead on Merlin's forehead, and at last there was an audible _SNAP,_ then Damian sighed in relief.

"Thank you." He held out his hand to the Prince who shook it heartily. "Do you have any empty spots in your castle that I could possibly fill?"

Merlin laughed as Arthur gaped, asking offendedly. "Are you saying you don't like it here?!"

Damian paled as he realized who else was there with him. "N-n-no, Sire."

"I was joking, Damian." Arthur cracked a smile.

"And his actions will be one of the things that will be sure to change." Morgana fixed him with an icy glare.

"Of course."

Merlin smiled and he opened his mouth to say something before a huge wave of magical force hit him straight in the chest. He stumbled back in shock and coughed, falling onto his hands and knees, winded from surge. Three pairs of hands rushed towards him, one of them rubbing his back, one of them tapping his cheek to keep him conscious as he gasped for air, and one with their hands out stretched towards him, casting spell that helped open up his airways. After a few minutes, he got his breathing under control and looked up to see the three peasants sitting next to him and making sure he was okay with Morgana watching worriedly over their shoulders and Arthur still at the door, pretending not to care, but glancing towards the scene anxiously. The warlock allowed the magic passed his barrier and his head jerked up, accidentally banging Damian in the face.

"Ow! You just fixed me and now I'm already injured again!" He joked and the crowd burst out in laughter with Arthur attempting (but failing) to keep a straight face. All except Merlin who fixed his blank gaze at the wall in front of him. Slowly, shock crept into his sharp features, accentuating the dark circles under his eyes and the paleness of his skin.

"My brother.." He whispered, but his voice faltered and cracked, not allowing him to continue. Morgana conjured a goblet filled with water which he drank greedily. "My brother is nearing the Castle."

* * *

_Aaaaaaand that's where it's gonna stop for now! Aren't I evil! *evil laugh* Another cliffy. Luckily, it's before the start of the New Year, so I DID BETTER THAN I SAID I WOULD! YAAAAAAY! This is another of those fics that you never know when the author is going to update, but you know it won't be anytime soon, so I'm really truly sorry! Even now I'm procrastinating homework, which I really should get to by the way. I haven't been able to read at all or write very much because SCHOOL and other bad stuff, so apologies again for the late update. But, it is a little longer, so I hope the length makes up for the lateness.  
Luckily, I have been able to watch stuff, so I've been watching this great series called Fringe. It's a J.J. Abrams show and the one that was done right after LOST had finished. It is AMAZING and 10/10 would recommend if you like freaky sci-fy that plays with your mind. It's got great characters and a great story line, but it **is** disturbing, so... WARNING. There.  
Well, Uther kind of stays an asshole in this one, but I'm sorry if I made Gwen or Arthur or Merlin OOC! It was not my intention.  
I gotta go soon, so I'm sorry if this authors note is too short! I promise to do better in the future (when I have time)!  
_

_Review Replies:  
HollyDawn- *kneels and bows to you* I thank you very much for the twizzlers, you amazing person! Your kind words made me fangirl at night when I was supposed to sleeping. Luckily, no one heard. YOU ARE FANTASTIC! *hugs*  
xAPRAx- Thank you! I really appreciate your enthusiasm!  
mersan123- Thank you so much for your review again! I love you so much! About Mordred... yeah, I kinda haven't really written him yet because this took me long enough to write without going on. I hope that Arthur being not exactly a total prat is okay with you because I thought his mom would straighten him out and put his morals on track a little better than his father.  
Linorien- It's fine! I'm always pretty spur of the moment. Let's be spur of the moment buddies!  
_

_Thank you for reading and reviewing!  
See ya next time!  
_

_REM_

_PS: Forgot to tell you what the Welsh supposedly means (Google Translated)- Fix this injured boy_

_PPS: HEY! I'm fixing up these chapters. Just an FYI, I'm in the middle of writing the next chapter which will explain some inconsistencies in the royals sudden change of heart. Arthur is being nice because his mother yelled at him and pretty much said, "You're an asshole."  
I figured out how to end this story but I haven't finished the middle sections which is one of the reasons it's taking me such a long time. SOOOOOOO, see ya hopefully soon! (12/16/14)_


	6. Explanation

You know what I'm going to say.

* * *

A FEW HOURS PREVIOUS.

As the cell door creaked open, Merlin shook himself out of his deep slumber and wiped the bleariness from his eyes. For a second, he didn't remember where he was, why he wasn't in his castle, where his brother was, but it all came rushing back to him in a wave of fury and confusion. He sat up and brushed his jacket off, re-tying his old, royal blue (and now slightly dirty) neckerchief around his neck. Quickly, he combed his finger through his hair, and stood up as his visitor walked through the door, his heels clicking ominously on the hard, cold, stone floor.

The king was a sight to behold. His bold, ruby cape flowed behind him like a river of blood, which flowed over the charcoal black scabbard clipped to his equally dark belt. He wore a black jacket with silver dots speckled across his chest with a large burgundy shirt hanging from his strong shoulders. A heavy golden crown sat atop his gray haired head, completing his regal appearance.

Silence filled the room like water, slowly creeping up the walls until everyone in the room felt as if they stayed silent, they would surely drown. One of the guards nudged a small rock which scraped across the gray stone floor and shifted uncomfortably when his only reaction was more persistent absence to noise.

The prince glared intensely into the kings cool stare, anger simmering clearly at the surface, his lip curling in fury. Slowly, after what felt an eternity, the raven haired boy crossed his arms in stubbornness and leaned back against the wall, his lip curling even more.

"What were you thinking, Merlin?" Uther growled at him. "First, you clearly disobey direct orders from your king, then you flaunt your...abilities in front of a bunch of gawking peasants and, in addition to this already outrageous exhibition of incompetence, you end up injuring my son in the process." The king, stepped forward, narrowing his eyes and the Essetiran boy stepped back in shock. "If the situation was any different, and you were not the son of my childhood friend, then your head would be on the chopping block before you could have reacted." He stepped back, slightly rocking on his heels. "But your death would cause panic to rip across you people, which would inevitably lead to me being killed as well."

Merlin's glare subsided as he turned his attention to his dirty, worn out brown boots. They had been a gift from a subject of his years ago when he had finally stopped growing. He had helped out the peasant's mother, who had been on her deathbed when the prince had arrived. He had then given the boy and his mother enough money to pay for the medications she would need and then some, meaning that if they used the money wisely, they could live off of it for years. A year later, the boy ran into some financial problems because of his mothers addiction to ale. Soon enough, she would drown in the sweet, amber poison, and he went to the prince for help. He became Merlin's man-servant, although he had protested at first. The job was well paying and most of the work he did involved integration with the prince. He began to understand the real reason for Merlin to choose him over anyone else: he had a quick tongue and couldn't stay it for anyone, including royalty. Just like Merlin. William soon became the princes best and closet friend, his only true advisor.

"Now, listen to me," the king said, taking his silence for obedience, "until your father is found, You are my responsibility." The raven haired boy looked up at him in shock, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped.  
"What?"

"Balinor said if he was ever to go missing, I was to take responsibility for your protection." Uther began pacing in the cell, his arms crossed, his face stony, cold.

"I can take care of myself, your highness." He attempted to keep the anger out of his voice.

"I'm not doubting that," his jaw clenched then unclenched and the regal king turned to the disheveled boy, "but this is an incredibly dangerous kingdom, especially for men of your talents."

"My talents?" Merlin looked up in surprise. "You mean magic?"

Uther nodded. "My people have always been weary of magic folk. They see the... skill as... unnatural."

"Unnatural?!"  
"Yes. My son-"  
"Your son?" Merlin clenched his teeth, shoving his hand through his messy black hair. He found he could no longer hold his tongue. "The only thing I find as unnatural is how your son treats others. He attempted to break my servants arm just because he stood up for prince Arthur's helpless servant. Your son, _sire_," he spat the title and the king recoiled in shock, "was throwing knives at an unarmed boy."

"He was a servant!" Uther's anger now clearly shone on his face and he charged forward until the raven-haired boy could count the gray hairs on his chin and smell the stench of his foul breath. "Servants are paid for that."

"They're paid to serve us, not be target practice. What if his hand had slipped?"

"Servants can be easily replaced."

"Lives cannot!"

The king took a step back, shock and rage shinning brightly in his dark eyes, his head was held high. He took a deep breath and turned towards the door, his back to the prince, composing himself. For a minute, the prince realized exactly how much trouble he had gotten himself into. The man that stood in front of him was not only another king. This king was his guardian, and he could punish him as much as he wanted to, no repercussions falling upon his proud shoulders. The boys eyes grew wide and he took a step back, a hand pressed to his mouth. The silence was ten times worse than it had been the first time around, full of anger and suspense. This time, the Essetiran prince was the only one to truly feel it's crushing weight, making the minute feel like a hellish eternity.

"Until you find a way to hold your sharp tongue," the king growled his over shoulder, "the only part of Camelot you will come to know is this cell."

"Yes, sire." He whispered, his lips trembling.

"I'll come back tonight to see if you have learned your lesson." He walked quickly out of the cage, the guards slamming it shut after him. Merlin wrapped his arms around himself, his form trembling as he pressed his back against the rough stone wall and lowered himself down to the floor.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

_Hey guys! Sorry it's been such a long time. I've been so busy with homework and stuff like that I haven't had time for anything. I know this is a really short chapter, but I promise I'll have time to write a long one later this week._  
_This chapter was actually an explanation for mersan123. S/he pointed out that Merlin was in the cells for a bit too long, and I wanted to explain why I kept him in there for such a long time. Thanks for telling me about it, mersan123! I hope this works to fix that plot hole._  
_If you didn't understand it, now Uther is pretty much saying that he is Merlin's adopted father, therefore, he could do whatever he wanted to Merlin as long as Balinor is gone and Essetir isn't under Merlin's reign. Plus, btw, if Uther captures Essetir back and the king and queen are still missing, he could gain full control over the kingdom instead of Merlin. /span It might have been unclear since I wrote this pretty quickly, but that's what I was trying to say._

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_  
_See ya later!_

_REM_

_PS: I've been correcting my chapters. Please let me know about any mistakes on personalities or spelling I have in any chapters and I'll be sure to correct them! (12/21/14)_


	7. Mordred

_Do I own Merlin? No. Do I wish I did? Yeah would it necessarily be a good thing? No._

* * *

"Your brother is almost here?" Price Arthur said in disbelief, his eyebrows crinkling together in confusion. Damian and Gili had just been sent to the king to deliver Arthur's handwritten note pleading for Merlin's release. "I thought...you know...he was..."

"Dead?" Merlin snickered shakily. "Yeah, so did I." He pushed himself up into a comfortable sitting position and leaned his back against the wall. "That is, until he was able to link my magic to his. Then we could speak, like a long distance conversation that's only spoken telepathically. And, prince Arthur, don't even try it, you look ridiculous."

The blond had begun to pinch his face together in concentration, but Merlins words snapped him out of his trance. Now, he looked passively at the boy on the ground, very aware that one of his magic suppressant cuffs was off. Morgana stood awkwardly to the side, the golden goblet she had teleported from her mothers room still clutched tightly in her delicate, deadly fist. Gwen stood in the shadows, her head drooping low and her hands clasped in front of her, her dress hanging from her still form. The darkness accentuated her beautiful silken dark hair, and Arthur had to force himself not to stare at her or say anything at all.

"What has your brother told you?" The Camelotian Prince had to remind himself to not look at Morgana's servant and to focus on the conversation at hand. One thing he noted, though, was the strange, respectful look Morgana's was giving Merlin.

"The first time, he told me he had been captured. By whom, Cenred's men or barbarians, he didn't know. I just figured, since he had been heading this way-"

"Wait." With a flash of gold and an intake of breath, the goblet in Morgana's hand disappeared, and the Kings ward now placed her hands on her hips, walking towards the men in her painstakingly detailed (thanks to Gwen) satin dress. "How did you know which direction they were headed?"

Merlin crossed his arms and, in a huff of exasperation, took off his cloak, throwing it into a pile on the cot. It didn't looks as though he was being cocky, in fact it was the exact opposite. He seemed unsure, afraid, but determined to get out and do what he could.

"It's magic." He explained. "You can do pretty much what ever you want with it. As-As long as you know the spell, of course."

The glare Morgana was sending him could make a dragons knees tremble in fear. Her eyes glowed golden and hazel. She began to shimmer with power, magic reacting to her emotions, making the air whip around the cell, picking up dust and speed as the seconds went by. If Merlin hadn't corrected his mistake, they would have all been flying around the tiny room, trying to grab on to the bars or ground themselves.

The gusts died down and Merlin blew a sigh of relief.

"Mordred has been dictating his surroundings to me for the past few hours. He said he saw a large castle with white stones up ahead only a little while a-ways, and suddenly, the connection was shattered. It almost seemed like..." He began to choke on hiss words, holding back tears. "...almost like he was... The connection was shattered. Not carefully let go of. It was v-violent. I think they're hurting him."

Gwen pressed her hand to her lips and Morgana gasped. Arthur walked over to the wall, one hand gripping his elbow and the other holding up his head. Under his cloak, the polished black buttons on his ruby red jacket shimmered ominously in the flickering torchlight, and his skin shone pale in the dark dank cell. He ran his hand down his face and stroked his chin, tiredness dulling his eyes.

"What do we do?" He asked the warlock. With a flash of Merlin's eyes, the other chain clattered to the ground and he looked at the others, his expression nearly daring them to counter his words.

"Let me take care of it. If you can distract your father, I can find my brother and get him out. Then, I'll contact Morgana. It might seem slightly strange at first, but you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly. I'll tell you further instructions on what to do. Then, we meet in my rooms when the plan is complete."

"But, Merlin," he spun to face the other boy, "Morgana and I were about to go for a 'ride' after we visited you. You might as well come with us to the forest."

The Essetiran Prince swore and bit his thumbnail, a nervous habit he had gotten from his mother. For a few moments, a strange, almost friendly silence fell upon the small group until finally, Merlin rubbed his temples, and with a sigh, said, "I'll meet you two back in Camelot. Tell your father what I told you. See if he'll allow me to go. Morgana, that means I need to set up a line of communication with you right now."

"Alright. What do I have to do?" Her jaw was bold and her head held high, eyes flashing with ferocity.

'Nothing. It's already done.' She jumped in shock, her eyes wide as Merlin looked proudly at her. It had sounded as if he was everywhere, yet nowhere at the same time. "It's much easier to do from smaller distances." He explained. "Are you ready to go?"

Arthur nodded and, after a moment of thought, so did Morgana. When Gwen caught Merlin's eye, her stare was no longer hostile, yet more kindly, motherly, more understanding. He smiled encouragingly at her, and she smiled, albeit unsurely, back. As soon as the other three had left, Merlin peaked out of the cell, his untamable black hair sticking out in every direction, his angular, pale face looking as pinched as ever, and his curious azure gaze making for a ridiculous appearance. If anyone had been there to see it, the would have surely burst into laughter. Alas, no one guarded the cell, and, with a sigh of relief, the prince retreated back into the cell and closed his eyes, standing with his feet shoulder width apart.

"Ailymddangos yn agos at fy mrawd (reappear close to my brother)." A wind began to whip around him, more controlled and centralized than Morgana's had been. When he opened his eyes, the were a brilliant gold, so bright that they shone in the cell like a cats eyes in the night. His bark blue cloak fell onto his shoulders and fastened it's self around his neck, clicking into place as the wind spun faster and faster until it was a mini cyclone. He slowly brought his hands out in front of him and just as they became perpendicular to his straight back, his head flew back and his surroundings were instantly changed from a dirty stone room to a bright green forest, the trees canopies glowing emerald in the warm afternoon light.

For a second, the prince stumbled around, trying to get his footing, but his balance lost the battle and he ended up falling to his knees as the world began to steady. At first, he was so disoriented that he didn't realize that someone was tugging at his consciousness, silently cursing his inability to preform large feats of magic without draining his strength. The sound of heavy footfalls and horses hooves beating through the fall leaves pushed him out of his temporary daze and he shook his head to clear his mind, remembering why he was there. Merlin flicked up his hood and stood away from the path, masking his voice with a silent, instinctual spell.

Morgana yanked at his mind with more urgency this time, and Merlin answered.

'Merlin, are you there?' She asked, worry lacing her voice.

'Yes, of course. I'm fine. Is there any news?'

'Uther has given you a few hours at most.' The warlock could tell that she was uncertain about something. 'That should give you enough time to find your brother and go.'

'That's great!' Merlin breathed as high of relief. At least that was over with.

'There is one thing, though...' It sounded as if she was debating whether to tell him something about Uther or not. Finally, he heard her sigh and she spat out the words. 'The king would like you to handle this diplomatically.'

'But-'

'I know. Just try it. If that doesn't work, let Uther handle it.'

'I don't have time for this.' Merlin snapped the connection and leaned against a tree in annoyance.

The hoof beats and footfalls were getting louder and louder until he heard a man shouting and the horses slowed to a stop, pausing right in front of him.

"Hello, sir. How may I help you?" The mans silky voice and curly red hair was sickeningly familiar. Edward had been one of Balinor's friend, a sorcerer and a warrior, until he accidentally, in the heat of battle, run his sword through his brother, Nathan. Nathan had join Cenred's forces because of a rebellion he had against his parents, in which they told him they wanted him to be in Balinor's army, but he wanted to be a potter. Instead of agreeing to his parents will, or even running away with the woman he loved and going into his dream profession, he joined Cenred's army to spite them. Edward had already been recruited for king Balinor's army, so when they were on the battle field, it was literally brother against brother. Even though it Edward had no choice and it wasn't the kings fault at all, he still blamed Balinor for the death of his brother, so he joined the rival army to avenge his brothers death. Now, Merlin supposed he had.

"I was wondering if I could catch a ride with you, friend." His voice was gruff and low, nothing like his normal one. It seemed like several pitches in one, and it's abnormality made the man do a double take. Luckily, the princes full body was shrouded in shadow, and Edward had no idea whom he was talking to.

The warrior looked at Merlin for a few minutes before moving over a bag which had been resting on the passenger seat of his carriage.

"Where are you headed?"

The raven haired prince chuckled darkly and slid into the seat. "Right outside of the walls of Camelot. Thank you for everything..." He held out his slim pale hand for the other man to shake, and he examined it before grasping it with a firm grip of his own.

"Edward."

"Elton." The lie dropped out of the princes mouth like a stone, and a pit began to form in his stomach. If his hood hadn't been covering his face, the soldier would have surely called his bluff.

Edward's large tanned calloused hand gripped Merlin's small pale soft one, and surprise flashed across his face, before a look of amusement. He threw his head back in throaty laughter, and it felt like he had twisted a knife lodged in the princes chest. He still laughed in the same way he had laughed years ago when he had been friends with Merlin in the castle at Essetir. He looked practically the same, as well. His face was still the same ovally shape and size, yet he was now more muscular and his skin was more tanned from being in the more southern sun. His eyes were also more tired and heavy, the death of his brother had obviously taken its toll on him.

"Strange name, Elton, but a strong one at that." Edward stifled his laughter as he spurred on the horses with the reigns, and Merlin allowed his magic to branch out and wriggle through his brothers mental defenses.

"Thank you." He said, not really paying attention. He felt his magic brush against Mordred's, and he connected it to his brother, strengthening him through the bond. Merlin glanced back and saw the very thing that haunted his nightmares. His baby brother looked more like a pile of dirty rags huddled in the back of a disgusting cage, curled up in a ball, thin arms wrapped around his calves and tear track running down a bloody face. His midnight hair stuck up on his head and his greasy locks looked as though they had been used to lift his baby brother. His lip was swollen and a river of red ran from his nose and lip, but when he caught his brothers worried look, he buried his face in his lap, muffling his sobs with his legs.

'Mordred?' He tried, but there was no answer.

"Sorry about the boy," Edward grunted, keeping his eyes fixed on the dirt road, "but he's just a slave. A lame one at that. He can't talk. Last time we tried to get him to speak was a few hours ago. Accidentally broke a rib."

"Really?"

'Mordred, please answer me! It's me, Merlin.'

"Yeah." Luckily, the soldier didn't detect the simmering tone beneath all of the false intrigue. For a while, the two men rode in an awkward silence before Merlin got the reply he was waiting for.

'Mer...lin?' Mordred whispered and the prince nearly laughed in relief. 'You're the person my jailer just picked up aren't you?'

Merlin stifled a giggle. 'You know me too well.'

'What are you doing here?'

'Going for a pleasure ride with the enemies.' He rolled his eyes in sarcasm and he heard a thin laugh coming from the other end of the telepathic connection. 'Looking for you, of course.'

'You have to get out of here!' Mordred cried through the link lifting his head to meet Merlin's eyes. 'They'll kill you. They're planning to take Camelot and the rest of the five kingdoms with our power.'

'But,' The older warlock bit his lip, 'that's not possible! We'd never agree to that.'

'We don't need to anymore.' Mordred's tone sent a shiver up Merlin's spine. 'They stole a book from a High Priestesses tomb, I think her name was Nimue. There was a ritual type of black magic spell in it that would allow you to absorb the magic from your enemies as they die. All Cenred's needs is all of our blood, and he can rule all of Albion.'

"This is your stop, Elton!" Merlin hadn't noticed when the horses had stopped, but when he swung his head back around, Edward was smiling kindly at him, gesturing at the inn by the outside wall of the castle, which he had parked directly in front of.

"Thank you." He shook hands with the knight once more and hopped off the carriage, stumbling into the inn. The room was flooded with a warm orangey, which blended very well with the sweet tang of ale. So many people were shoved in the small room that it felt as if the noise could seep out from the cracks in the wooden ceiling. Merlin shoved his way to the bar and waved at the innkeeper to let her know someone was there. The innkeeper was a small, plump woman in her lower thirties with a kind, open face, but, if he had heard correctly, a sharp whiplike tongue. Her long, red, wavy hair was tucked into a ponytail yet locks of it escaped, making her appearance look messier than it truly was. She paused her conversation and walked over to where Merlin stood at the counter.

"Hello there!" She smiled at him, her eyes crinkling slightly. "How can I help you?"

"I would like a room, please." He let the charm on his voice disintegrate and the woman nodded.

"For how long?"

"An hour."

"Ah!" The innkeeper looked rather amused. "That will be 5 gold coins. As well as the money the lady of the night wants from you."  
Merlin's pale cheeks turned bright red, and he was happy his face was obscured by shadows under his dark hood.

"I'm Clare, by the way. If you need anything, just give a holler." She disappeared behind the counter before reappearing a second later with a set of keys and motioned for him to follow her as she stepped from behind the bar and opened a door next to it. People moved out of the way to allow for the prince to get through.

"Thanks."

The innkeeper chuckled to herself as she dropped the keys into his hand. "Don't mention it, sweetheart! Refreshments are free as long as you rent a room."

"Can you keep this quiet?" Merlin whispered, looking around to make sure no wandering eyes had made their way behind the pine door. The coast was clear.

"Yeah, sure. Who's hunting you?"

"Oh, no one," he muttered, lowering his hood with a flick of his wrists, "but no one can know."

"Oh, yes sir!" She gasped, her hand flying to he mouth. "I understand! I apologize for not noticing sooner."

Merlin shook his head, taking out 10 more coins from his purse and pressing them into her hand. "There's no way you would have known. I'm extremely grateful for your help."

The woman shook her head, dark curls framing her face as she poured the coins back into his hand.

"Keep them." She said with a smile before walking back into the bar and shutting the door behind her.  
The prince slipped inside of his room, his midnight blue cape nearly catching on the door as it snapped shut. He sat down on the narrow wooden bed and focused all of his energy into appearing in Morgana's room.

"Ailymddangos yn y lleoliad hwn (reappear at this location)."

And with a golden flash of his eyes and a tug from his chest, the man do und himself falling face first onto the marble tile of the prince of Camelot's bed chambers.

* * *

_Heya friends! How's it going? I will tell you one thing: I've been up for 23 hours and I got four hours of sleep yesterday, so I'm gonna post this nearly done thing right now, then type a better authors note and revise it tomorrow. The translations of the Welsh from Google translate are right next to the welsh itself in the story. Okay? Yeah.  
__Good night._

_REM_

_Yahoo! I got 11 hours of sleep behind me now. This is good. But I think I'm getting a cold. This is bad news. I do have all of the rest planned out in my head. THIS IS REALLY GOOD NEWS.  
Sadly, I just wrote this and my computer EXITED OUT. It's SO FRUSTRATING, but I'm okay with it. So, I have a lot of random scenes written out on my iPhone and iPad that I just got (because my hands have not been working properly), so I **might** be able to write faster, but don't expect it. Sorry. There are a lot of characters which I have changed significantly due to the simple fact that Uther hasn't condemned magic because in the series, the hatred for magic drives a lot of people to the DARK SIDE (of the force). Pretty much, don't expect anyone to be what they're like in the show. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  
_

_Thanks for reading, and see ya next time!_

_REM_


	8. The Price of Freedom

_I don't own it. Not the show, not the stories, none of it! (Except my story and the plot. THAT IS MIIIIIIINE!)_

* * *

When the prince of Essetir appeared in prince Arthur's room, Will was more than happy to see his friend until the young man collapsed on the floor in a heap of exhaustion.

The brown haired boy sprinted to his friends side and shook him, hoping for a response until the prince walked through the doors, completely relaxed until he saw the man lying unconscious on his white marble floor. His whole demeanor changed, tensing and stressing, veins popping in his neck. He spun around, tugging his gloves more comfortably on his wrists before spinning around again with a deep breath, bottling up his anger for the time being.

"What, in the name of God, is he doing on the floor of my bed chambers passed out from God knows what?" Arthur's drawling voice made the servant back away from his other master, hands clasped behind his back.

"I'm sorry sire, but I have no idea why he's here. It wasn't me, I swear." Will backed away from Arthur as he advanced on him, but when the prince glanced his way, Arthur rolled his eyes and knelt down next to Merlin, checking for a pulse. He took his hand away with a sigh.

"Alive." He muttered. "Sadly."

"What?!" Will glared at the prince, still kneeling over his unconscious friend. "What are you trying to say?"

Suddenly, Merlin sat straight up with a large gasp, clutching at Arthur's chain mail and his friends thin shirt, which nearly ripped as the raven haired prince tugged it in an attempt to stay upright. Prince Arthur and the servant grabbed his wrists, allowing the Essetiran man to use them for leverage as he sat up. As soon as they got him into a comfortable sitting position, he nearly fell back down to the hard stone floor, which would have mostly made him crack his head. To support him, they pushed him next to the bed as he blinked rapidly at the swirling colors around him. The pale boy gasped, leaning heavily on the mattress, and his eyelids drooped as his head lolled back against the rich colored comforter.

"I need to get...down to court...right...now." He wheezed, sweat beading along his forehead. Arthur rolled his eyes and, with a sigh, threw Merlin over his shoulder.

"Wait, sire!" Will called after Arthur, but the prince was too busy carrying Merlin back to his rooms that he didn't notice how the servant trailed behind them.

"Arthur, let me go!" Merlin slammed his fists into the mans back, but it was useless. He was too weak to do much damage.

"Yeah, okay. I'm going to take you right to the doors, alright?"

"No, Arthur, this is serious." Suddenly, the boy was scrambling in his arms, wriggling like an eel, frantically trying to escape the golden haired princes grasp. The prince had to fight to keep him steady, but finally Merlin won the fight as he fell from Arthur's arms and onto the stone floor. He pushed himself up, the bolted down the hallway, calling to the prince.

"My brother's going to be here any minute now. I have to get down there, I'm sorry, Arthur!"

"MERLIN!" Will sprinted after him, his former masters name echoing through the halls as Arthur sighed, a hand passing over his tired face.

"Aw Hells." Arthur muttered to himself before speeding after his now wayward servant.

What, in the name of Camelot, had just happened?

* * *

Down in the lower town, a large group gathered around the cage where the boy prince was enslaved. Edward nodded to them and they nodded back, each one wearing a clip that bore the sign of Cenred. Soon, fifteen men surrounded and followed the cage, their hoods drawn over their faces so as not to be recognized by the people.

Some of the townsmen and women whispered about who the strange men might be. The most popular belief was that they were people who had gone missing and had been bent to Cenred's will. One of them was that they weren't even human at all, but a mix between man and wolf as they seemed to sniff at the air at random moments like bloodhounds sniffing out the scent of their next prey.

"I hope it's Prince Merlin," a few of the townsmen said, "I hope he gets punished for bringing magical scum into Camelot."

"Yes, he deserves nothing but the worst." Others whispered to each other as the cart rolled by, odd hooded men walking calmly beside the frightened child in the cage. No one mentioned him. It seemed as though a magical princes' death was more important than a suffering innocent. The people had become blinded by their fear of magic, of the unknown. They turned to churches that preached that the day magic no longer existed would be the day when all mankind were guaranteed a place in heaven.

One servant slipped back into the castle, her long, curly, black hair tucked under a lilac scarf. Gwen ran though the hallways, her high heels clicking on the hire, stone floor, the light purple fabric balled up in her fist. She had to tell Morgana.

Merlin's brother had just arrived.

* * *

"...and the taxes in my land are too high, for the farmers and their families are starving to death..."

Uther sighed in annoyance. Lord Bethamy had been talking about tax reductions, legalizing something or other, getting his son out of prison for theft and murder, and just about five thousand other things as well. The king looked around the room, his eyelids drooping from boredom, and saw only a few intrigued faces. The rest of the nobles were half asleep, in fact, he noticed that a few of them had fallen to the lethargy of the Lords monotonous tones with their heads resting on their hands, the slow rise and fall of their chest signifying a deep sleep. The royal smirked to himself, taking comfort in the fact that he wasn't the only one in the council who thought that this was a complete waste of time. Still, if he didn't hear the lord out, people like that could run him into the ground. So he listened the best he could, glancing at his wife every few minutes as she gave him another amused and encouraging smile, until Morgana walked through the door, her servant rushing to keep with her quickened pace.

She wore a turquoise gown, which had a shiny silky quality to the fabric, of course one of her maid servants many creations. It was encrusted with jewels around her waist like a belt, but the jewels seemed to pour down the dress like tiny, shimmering raindrops. Sitting atop her ebony hair was a slender circlet, marking her as the (adopted) daughter of royalty, the Kings Ward. A dark blue necklace shone on her throat as she marched to her throne, her black high heels clicking against the floor.

Still, the Lords mouth ran. No longer was Uther even trying to listen to his nonsense. He looked at Morgana with intrigue, an eyebrow tilting up as she glanced his way. The woman only stared pointedly towards the man who was ranting now about the smell of the farmers manure, and how it should be outlawed because it smelled so bad. The king followed his Wards gaze and realized that she wasn't staring at the Lord at all, but the large oaken doors behind him. Soon, the doors slammed open, a guard gasping in pain as he clutched his arm. A dagger protruded from his shoulder and he cried out in agony as he forced the door open, his feet sliding out from under him. The council members gasped, some fleeing the room, but all were now awake. Lord Belamy took one look at the unconscious, bloody man who lay out in front of the hall, and fainted.

Uther stood, his mouth open, his eyes kept on the half dead guard until a knight baring the mark of Cenred on his cloak walked into the room without so much as a glance toward the now writhing man on the floor.

"I, Edward, am a messenger from the kingdom of Essetir and demand an audience with the king!" His voice echoed through the silent room. Soon, the Lords had all skittered away, disturbed and frightened of the display of horror that lay bleeding on the floor next to the entrance. Another guard ran into the room, glanced at the knight, picked up the downed man as he cried out in pain, then left the man with the royal family. A few seconds later, Merlin burst through the doors, Arthur's temporary manservant and Arthur not far behind. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his skin was even paler than normal. Uther sighed in annoyance.

"I'm guessing you're not going back to the dungeons peacefully, are you?"

Merlin shook his head. All the king did was smirk and tell him to go see the court physician the next time he had a chance. The warlock nodded, confused on why he was not being reprimanded. Uther saw his look of confusion and began to explain.

"I was going to take you out of the cells as soon as Lord Belamy was done." The king now focused his eyes on the enemy knight standing in the middle of the room. "If you hadn't learned your lesson by now, you never would. Balinor always said you had spirit."

Merlin flinched at his fathers name, his loss still a raw nerve. The knight in the middle of the room grinned at the princes pain and Uther glared at him, still addressing the prince.

"Still, you are to be placed under heavy guard. Two knights must escort you to and from select places where you will be allowed to go. Now," he leaned forward., all of his attention focused towards the knight, "what does Cenred want?"

Edward threateningly proceeded to reach inside his coat pocket. Suddenly, the room erupted into chaos, and everyone inside of the room soon had their weapons in their hands, even the women. A spell made him fall to his knees, feeling as though a gigantic force had punched him in the chest. He looked at Merlin as his eyes faded back to blue, anger clearly blinding the teenage prince. A sort of recognition seemed to dawn in the knights eyes until he fell onto his hands and knees, gasping and coughing. Then, the recognition was gone, replaced by cold hatred.

"Merlin!" Arthur hissed then gripped his arm, teeth clenched in frustration. "That's enough! Once is fine, but two's a bit excessive."

"That..." Confusion clouded the boys features as they spoke in hushed tones. "That wasn't me. Well, the first one was, but not the second."

Arthur looked at him, his brow furrowed. "Then who was it?"

Merlin shrugged as the man began to speak once more.

"The glorious King Cenred would like to extend an olive branch of peace towards its sister kingdom, Camelot, on one condition." Edward marched up to the king and knelt down before him as he handed him a scroll which he had fished from out of his pocket. The swords were slipped back into their sheaths, but Morgana and Igraine gave the man a look of warning.

Uther's eyes lazily scanned the paper, and for a few moments there was complete and utter silence. Then, he looked up, horrified and disgusted.

"And if I do not agree to this outrageous demand?!"

A sleazy smile crept on to Edwards face, his eyebrow raising slightly in delight. He clapped his hands together and the squeaking of wheels echoes through the whole castle. In a few moments, a rusted iron bounty hunters cage rolled into to great hall, rolled in by two men completely shrouded in robes, their features indistinguishable under the cover of their hoods. In the back of the cage, there seemed to be a pile of bloodied rags, but then the pile moved. It shifted and groaned until the clothes resembled the shape of a pale, beaten boy. It seemed like the whole room held their breath as the seven year old opened his blue eyes which were just as pale as the rest of him. The only part of his body that didn't seem like the odor had been drained was the mess of ink black hair that sat atop his head. It was obvious who the boy was, even to Arthur.

"MORDRED!" Merlin screamed and sprinted towards the cage. Arthur grabbed his arm as he tried to pass and dragged him, kicking and screaming, back to the edge of the room, where he tried to quiet the frantic warlock. Mordred, meanwhile, had climbed to the front of his cage, his knuckles white as he gripped the bars and his eyes wide, staring at his brother as whimpering noises erupted from his throat. Edward slammed a large, bloody stick into the bars of the cage and the young prince flew back into a corner of the cage, silent once again.

"LET GO OF HIM, YOU MONSTER!" Merlin tried to fight Arthur's grip, but it only encouraged Arthur to shove his hand over the princes mouth.

"Shut up if you want to stay in here." Prince Arthur hissed in his ear. "If you stop trying to massacre Sir Edward, then I'll let you go."

Suddenly, prince Arthur found it impossible to keep his hold on Merlin, almost as if he had an invisible shield around him. The warlock brushed himself off, his eyes still watching the boy in the cage, then proceeded to watch without further comment, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"It's funny that you call me the monster, _warlock_." The knight's eyes were gleaming with insanity as they fell on the Essetiran prince, who shrunk back as if he had been struck. Edward turned his attention back onto the king. "My kind and generous king has given you two weeks to decide, but he would be willing to change it to longer if you're willing to let the boy pay." He whistled and three of the hooded men appeared in the cage, one shoving Mordred to his knees, one forcing his hand on the floor in front of him, and the third holding a knife above the boys hand.

The room erupted into chaos.

Igraine gasped, grabbing onto Uther's hand as the king stood, fury darkening his expression. Morgana's knuckles turned white as she gripped her seat, the ground beginning to rumble before her. Merlin ran forward, taking Mordred's other hand in his, chanting protective spells and a weak looking force field began appearing around the young boy, but it soon sputtered out, just like the attacking spells he tried on the hooded figures. Mordred turned his head towards his brother, terror shining brightly in his eyes. Arthur took his sword out of its scabbard and pressed it to Edward's neck, anger practically radiating off of him. Gwen screamed, Igraine's maidservant, Mary, fainted, and Uther's manservant ran out of the room, retching into the nearest waste pile. Will and Adrian, Arthur's manservant, yanked Edward's head and arms backwards, forcing him to expose his neck to the sharp tip of Camelot's princes sword. But the knight just smiled, looking straight at Merlin.

"If I die," he choked out, "he dies with me."

After a minute and one last glare, prince Arthur pulled his sword away and the ground began to settle, the anger in Morgana's face . Everyone except Merlin disappeared back into their places in the corners of the room, their eyes kept on the knight, whose would haunt their nightmares for years to come.

"That's better!" He stretched his shoulders back. "Where was I? Ah, yes. For every week you do not reply after your two weeks are up, another finger will be removed at first from his right, then his left hand." The hooded figure swung the knife down and the figures disappeared once more. The blade had embedded itself right next to Mordred's little finger. The rooms occupants sighed with relief as Merlin fell to his knees in relief, still holding onto his younger brother's hand. Slowly, the boy sat up, shaking, his eyes blank in shock.

"So," the knight put his hands behind his back as if he was scolding naughty children, "I'll leave you to your decision-making. I'm leaving the boy with you so that you know we won't hurt him, but if you try to leave the castle, there will be dire consequences. I'll see you in two weeks exactly."

The shadowy men and Edward disappeared, no sign that they had been there apart from the dread in everyone's hearts and the large, iron cage with the boy trapped inside.

* * *

The situation quickly turned into a frantic search for a way to get the young prince out of the cage. People patted around the bars to find a key or something that would enable them to get him out of the horrible, putrid, iron prison. There was but one key and Merlin saw it hanging from Edward's neck when it was exposed in the fight.

"Excuse me," Merlin tried to speak over the noise, but he found it nearly impossible, "could you all-"

The noise level began to get louder and louder until Mordred covered his ear with his unoccupied hand, the other still holding tight to his older brothers. Upon seeing Mordred's discomfort, Merlin's anger was enough to trigger his magic. A wave of golden power radiated from the prince and made everyone else stumble back in fear.

"BE _**QUIET**_!" His voice was almost one hundred times louder than it normally was making Mordred look at him in wonder. Once everyone was silent, Merlin's magic curled back into his chest and became dormant once again. "It can't be picked. The bounty hunters designed these so that their slaves wouldn't be stolen from them. Normal magic wouldn't work either, but I may be able to open it." He let go of Mordred's hand and walked up to the lock and put it on the cool metal, closing his eyes and allowing himself to only feel his loss, his pain, and his absolute _need_ for his brother to be alright. The magic began to reach out and heat the lock, allowing each of the emotions to empower it. Slowly, he felt the metal shift. He opened his eyes to see that the metal had turned into a glowing orange like hot coal. He removed his hand and tugged at the door. Arthur and Morgana caught on, making their ways towards the cage and pulling at the doors with all of their might. Finally, the lock was pulled apart, ripped in two like gooey, harmless dough. Mordred, as his chains fell of as his magic rushed back to him, sprung out and ran into Merlin, and he lifted the boy into his arms, truly looking happy for the first time since they had come to Camelot. The boy clung to him like sap to a tree, hanging onto him as if he could disappear at any moment and leave him alone again. That was when the older warlock noticed the small, silver band with runes carved into it hanging on Mordred's wrist.

'I'll deal with that later.' He hugged Mordred closer to him, and the young boy leaned into his embrace with a mental sigh of relief. Everyone in the room cheered for the reunited brothers, even Arthur, albeit reluctantly. As the commotion quieted down, Igraine turned to her husband, a happy grin lighting up her face.

"So, darling," she said loud enough so that everyone could hear, "do you mind telling us what this 'outrageous demand' is?"

Uther shifted uncomfortably, his smile instantly falling from his lips. "I would rather not say."

"Then let me have a look." She snatched it playfully from his lap with a twinkle in her eyes. The queen unraveled the delicate scroll and cleared her throat as her eyes scanned the page. As her face begin to fall, Uther put his head into his hands. Now, the whole room of royals was silent. "No..." Her whisper was one of disbelief and astonishment. She looked up at Merlin, then down at the scroll once again, throughly horrified.

"Mum, what is it?" Arthur was already put off by his mothers expression.

"He wants us..." Igraine cleared her throat, anger nearly blocking her voice, "In order for Mordred to be released, he wants us to send prince Merlin back in that cage and those chains."

* * *

_Heya, friends!_ _I'm so tired. I really need sleep, so this might be the last one for a while. Exams are coming up soon and I really need to do my work! I'm practically drowning in study material.  
Anyway, right now I'm looking for a beta, so hopefully I'll find one sooner or later! If any of you have suggestions, please PM me! I REALLY NEED ONE! I was starting to look over the beginning of this and I realized how crappy it all started out, so I'll probably edit it a bit later. When I get the chance. Probably after I'm done with this whole fic. Speaking of edits, I was trying to edit this chapter, but I really need to do work right now because EXAMS and FINALS and I HAVEN'T STUDIED, so I'll edit it later, okay? (I know. I suck. But, hey. At least the chapter's here!)  
Review Response:  
MerlinMorgana1579- Without saying anything too revealing, I think you'll be happy with my Morgana development. Plus, you are fully correct. This story is beginning to take a sharp u-turn into darkness. I hope you'll still like it!  
Thanks for reading, guys. I really mean it.  
See ya later!_

_REM_


	9. Camelot and Magic

It had been a day since Mordred arrived, and Uther Pendragon had isolated himself in his room, refusing to see anyone including the queen. There was no word of whether he was any closer to deciding on the treaty's terms or not, but Merlin wasn't willing to wait and find out. He now had a little brother to take care of.

The first day of being out of the castle (with two guards following in their wake) was strange to say the least. Will had once again become his servant now that he was legally free, and Mordred was more than happy to see the man. When he had woken the princes by throwing both the curtains and insults (at Merlin, of course), he found himself being tackled to the ground by the younger prince. He yelped as he fell and the two princes laughed. Hearing Mordred laugh was the closest he had ever gotten to speaking, so when he laughed, it really meant something.

Later that day, Merlin and Mordred went into the market, and the younger boy looked up in wonder at all of the buildings and colorful stalls filled with fruits, jewelry, or other even more interesting things like tiny sculptures or paintings. Soon, they came upon a stall with beautifully sewn shirts that sold for only a few gold coins. The woman behind the cart wore a simple cotton dress with intricately woven blue flowers gracefully climbing their way up the fabric all the way to her hips, where the tallest flower's head rested. Her wavy, brown hair was tied up in a sloppy bun, a few curls falling to her shoulders or slightly past. She smiled and laughed openly as she chatted with a customer, gesturing towards a long sleeved shirt and holding it up to his chest. He looked down and smiled, fishing in his pockets for money and pointed to a dress, a smaller shirt, and lastly two pairs of pants. She nodded and handed them to him as he placed money in her hand. She held out her hand and he shook it, graciously. Then, the woman turned to face Merlin, her smile at first bright and welcoming, but upon seeing his cape and the damned golden circlet that Will had forced him to wear in his ink black hair, her smile faded, soon turning into one of anxiety and fear.

"Hello," she took a step back, "how may I help you, my lord?"

"Hi," he said with a kindly smile, "I'm looking for some clothes for my little brother."

She shifted from one leg to the other, looking anywhere but his eyes. "Well, you do know that there are castle clothing makers? Not to be offensive though, my lord," She laughed nervously, a forced smile painted on her lips, her eyes wide.

"I like to get closer to the people."

There was an awkward silence as Mordred analyzed each shirt as if they were extremely valuable belongings. After a long staring contest with the inanimate clothes, he pointed at a small, dark blue shirt with long sleeves.

"Could we get that one?" Merlin gestured to the shirt. The woman nodded, her movements jerky as she took the shirt from where it hung from.

"That'll be five." She held out her hand as he reached into his pocket and grabbed five coins from the small leather pouch. They clinked together as they fell into her hand, glistening in the warm sunlight, and her slim fingers curled around the change. She put the coins into her pouch, then shoved the shirt at them and backed away quickly once the older warlock took it.

"Goodbye." The store owner clasped her hands in front of her, her head down as if she wished that anyone but Merlin was there. He nodded respectfully to her.

"Have a nice day." He said as her turned away, grabbing Will's arm in a painful grip.

"Ow!" Will complained as he was dragged away from the store by his master, his little master following close behind. The prince dragged the servant into a small alleyway, and the two guards looked awkwardly at each other before stationing themselves at the corners of the buildings in the front of the alley.

"We need to finish up here. It doesn't seem like I'm very welcome, thanks to the Asshole Alert on my head." He growled quietly and pointed to his circlet. "Now, they're even afraid of Mordred, and he's six! For gods sake, what do they think he's gonna do? Magically create a pastry?!"

"Fine." The servant yanked his arm out of Merlin's grip and straightened out his shirt. "I'll buy the clothes for him."

Merlin huffed, rolling his eyes. "You left your money in the castle, again."

"So?" He held up a small satchel filled with gold coins and jingled it in front of the warlock's face. Instantly, Merlin recognized it as his. He reached for his bag just to make sure and, sure enough, it was gone. "I've got this!"

"Hey!" The prince lunged at it, but Will moved it just out of his reach. Suddenly, he thought that throwing himself forward might not have been such a good idea. He toppled to the ground with an undignified squawk, landing in a heap on the ground. Mordred giggled in amusement, but went silent when Merlin glared at him.

"Fine," the prince groaned as he got up, brushing himself off, "but you can only take half. The rest stays with me." He held out his hand, and the servant reluctantly dumped half of the coins into his palm. His eyes wandered around, looking for a piece of cloth that would work as a purse, and his eyes landed on a lavender scrap which looked like it had been the bottom of a dress that had been caught on the bricks and tore. At the blink of an eye, the scrap was in his hand, now a clean and fully seen pouch.

"Show off." Will grunted, and Merlin snorted. He looked over at the little prince to make sure he wasn't paying attention before he said the next part. "Now, get to the castle before someone sticks a sword through your pretty little face, my lady."

Merlin sent a furious glare at his servant, who made his expression as innocent as he could. Then, with one last seething glare over his shoulder, the prince set off for the castle, drawing his blue cape around him for warmth as one guard trailed after him.

* * *

Mordred watched as his big brother walked away, horrified and miserable.

'Stay with Will, Mordred,' his brothers voice was warm and comforting, soothing his mind like a blanket in the winter. He felt their consciousness' connection and allowed the bond to keep him from becoming terrified. 'You have to listen to him. Pretend like he's me.'

'Okay, but what if he buys something I don't like?' Mordred tried his hardest not to sound panicked. 'I have no way to tell him what to buy!'

He could hear his big brother sigh in exasperation and he almost jumped in shock. For a second, he sounded exactly like their father!

'Then, we'll go back out and pick what you want tomorrow. If you get home early enough, I'll let you set up a mental connection with Morgana so you can talk to her. She's really nice. You'll like her.'

Mordred hummed, but whether in satisfaction or just because he was calming down was a mystery.

"C'mon, Mordred." Will held his hand out and the little prince grabbed his fingers. He had always felt as if Will had been family. Now, hand in hand with the servant, he felt happy. He felt calm. He felt safe.

The guard followed silently behind them.

* * *

Once Merlin had put the market behind him and his guard, he slowed down to match the other mans pace. He noted that he looked nervous as his eyes kept on glancing at the prince and his complexion was a sickly pale shade of white.

"So, I heard you were the first to identify my men and I, right?"

"Y-Y-Yes, sire." His voice was shaky and his hands were constantly moving.

"What is your name?"

"Tristan, sire."

"Tristan." The name was crisp in the prince's mouth, as if it were an apple. "That's a strong name. You seem strong enough to fit in it well." He smiled at the guard, who smiled hesitantly back.

"Thank you, sire."

"In fact, I have a small gift for you once I get to my room, Tristan." He smiled as he heard the guards breath catch, falling a few steps behind the prince.

Tristan caught up to him, confused. "You must be joking, sire. I'm just a guard who-"

"Who works hard for his earnings and meals. And you saved the lives of several of my knights as well as my life. For that, you must receive a reward." Merlin was now grinning wildly at Tristan, who was still trying to process what he had just said.

"I-I dunno what to say!" Tristan spluttered.

"You don't need to say anything at all." The prince laughed. "Silence is always a good option."

And silence is what Tristan chose. Which might have been a mistake, because his silence was the very thing that nearly caused the death of the Prince of Essetir.

The streets wound together like a ball of yarn, and soon, Merlin was unable to figure out how to get back to the castle. It was still visible above the rooftops of the peasant's houses, but it seemed as if every turn lead them farther and farther away from it, twisting and turning in every which way except the direction that they actually wished to go in. Finally, the prince frustratedly turned to the guard.

"How do we get back to the castle?"

"Ummmmm." Tristan looked around, his heavy chainmail clinking as he moved. His face was pinched in confusion, his dark eyes scanning the buildings around them. "I...don't actually know. I've never been to this part of the lower city."

"Dammit." Merlin closed his eyes, allowing his mind to trace a path which he supposed lead to the castle, and he had almost finished tracing the path completely when a THUMP like a body falling to the ground awoke him from his trancelike state. His eyes snapped open just to be covered by a strip of cloth. He whipped his head around, trying fruitlessly to see something as he felt someone binding his hands tightly together with a coarse rope. A voice sounding right next to his left ear made him jump in surprise.

"You don't belong here." The voice was low, angry, and rough as if he had been yelling all day. "We don't want your kind roamin' the streets as if they own Camelot. They barely deserve what we gave them before: homes, food, and an okay life. Why couldn't you have just stayed in the fire and burned like the rest of your family?"

The question made it hard for Merlin to breathe, making the hole in his chest feel bigger and more empty than ever. He began to think about his parents and their screams as white hot flames boiled their skin, tearing them to pieces as they cried, their tears evaporating as they fell onto their cheeks.

Hands tightened on his arms as his captors beat him, punching and kicking with ferocity. Realizing that he could hurt innocents if he attacked them with magic due to his lack of sight, he allowed a small shield to form around him using a nonverbal spell. He fell to the ground, free from the hands that held him up, and curled into a ball, wondering when the blows would end as he spiraled into a deep state of unconsciousness.

* * *

THREE HOURS LATER

Will walked through the halls of the giant castle, his too big, dirty brown boots dragging on the floor with every step. He carried the tired little prince with one arm, and in the other, he held several shirts and pants, all specifically chosen and approved by Mordred, himself, who now sleeping on Will's shoulder, his arms clutched tightly to his chest and his cape fluttering down by the older boy's arm.

"Merlin, check out what..." The servant's voice trailed off as he realized that Merlin's chambers were empty. For a moment he paused, confused, unwittingly holding his breath.

"Merlin?" He looked around, unsure. The room was cold, the fireplace unlit. The bed was made, no wrinkles in sight. The desk chair hadn't moved.

Merlin hadn't come back to his room.

That was odd.

Placing Mordred in a cot that had been made for him by the prince's bed, he ran out of the room, going from door to door, asking whether anyone had seen his master. No one had. There was only one option to do. The king was unavailable, so he decided to try the prince.

He sprinted back to the prince's room and burst through the doors, smacking into Arthur's new servant, David, and flying backwards onto his backside. An empty tray of food plates and bowls clattered to the ground with a nearly deafening CLANG.

"Will! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Arthur's angry voice rung out in the nearly empty chambers. The servant scrambled off of the floor and faced the prince of Camelot, who stood at his desk, eyes blazing.

"I'm really sorry sire, but Merlin is missing!" Will cried between gasps of air.

"What?" Any anger the prince had had before in his voice vanished, turning into surprise as he walked to the center of the room, looking Will directly in the eye. "I thought he had guards to protect him! What happened?"

"We went to the market, but people were looking at us as if they wanted to kill the princes. He was worried about Mordred, so he was going to go back to his room and let me shop for Mordred-"

"Is Mordred alright?"

"Yes. He's in the room. But when I got back, Merlin hadn't been in his room at all. I can't find him anywhere! He's probably still in the lower town. We have to find him!"

"Guards!" Two men appeared at the door way at the prince's short command. "Send out a search party for the lower towns. The prince of Essetir must be found. Go!"

Prince Arthur grabbed his sword, which had been laying beside his bed, and grabbed his jacket. He grabbed Will's arm as he walked quickly towards the door.

"Let's go."

* * *

_Heya, Awesome Possums! So, how about that more Merlin!Whump? Good? Horrible__? So-so? _

_Sorry about that cliffhanger. Sorta. Not really. _

_Anyhoo, what do you think'll happen with Merlin? Man, he just can't get a break, can he?! He's a very unlucky boy. Who do you think will find him? How long will it take them to find him? What do you think about Uther locking himself in his room? What do you think he'll choose? What about when Igraine and Uther find out about Merlin's mishap with the people? Do you think he'll be pissed? Pleased? No comment?_

_So, I know I haven't talked about the Knights for a long time. Don't worry, I'll get to them next chapter. They are pretty awesomely badass. :) _

_I've been listening to a bunch of Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman. Really loving their music! But, if you're into bluegrass-y, Old English-y music, check out Heather Dale! Listening to her music has made me a little more motivated to keep on writing this storyline, believe it or not._

_I know this is a short chapter. I've just been so busy lately. Everyone'so getting sick and earlier, I had to bring one of my parents to the emergency room. Luckily, everyone's getting better. Sadly, I haven't been getting much sleep due to the fact that I have been sick as well! Still, school is a hellish requirement. :(_

_Oh, and BTW, guess who's got a beta? YUP, IT'S ME! Thanks to my wonderful, amazing beta, MerlinMorgana1579. You are the best. If you like slash, go check out her stuff! It's really great!_

_Yeah, so I think that's about it. Please please PLEASE review. I know that some of you don't often like to review, but it would really mean so much to me if you would just take the time to write out a simple, "Your writing sucks," or "Hi." Believe me, each review means all the world to me._

_I love you guys. Thanks for reading!_

_REM_


	10. Lost and Found

_ Just a quick announcement before the chapter begins. These chapters are gonna be much shorter than I had originally planned due to my shocking lack of free time, but I promise that they won't be much shorter than 1,000 words. I'm really sorry. :(  
Aaaaaaaand I still don't own Merlin._

* * *

"We have to secure the boy Prince and make sure that no one takes him from his room," Arthur had not stopped talking ever since they had left the room, whether he was spouting orders to some servant or guard, or just talking out plans to Will, who had been trying to listen, but it was too much talk and not enough action for him. Plus, the very plan the prince had talked about implementing seemed as useless as if they were just sitting in a room, drinking ale. Merlin wouldn't be found in a tavern, nor in any cheap inn, nor found in the bed of a young pretty girl. He also wouldn't allow himself to get murdered or kidnapped. They were approaching the search completely wrong!

"But I guess we could leave that for a little later." The Prince continued his never ending rant, earning an annoyed sigh from the servant.

"You there!" Arthur barked at a guard who had been eating his lunch in peace until just then. The sandwich dropped from his hands as he immediately stood. "Check in the whorehouses at the edges of the lower town-"

"Sire-" Will tried to get the Prince's attention, but it was no use. It was as if he was talking to a brick wall.

"-then check in the houses just outside of the-"

"PRINCE ARTHUR!" But the prince was too stubborn to listen to a servant.

"-city and check with the guards to see if they've seen any suspicious carriages leaving or entering. What do you want, Will? I'm a bit busy trying to find your master. You know, the one you were supposed to keep an eye on at all times?" The prince's eyes were blazing as he glanced back at the servant who walked slightly behind him.

Will felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment and shame. His gaze dropped to the floor, his long brown hair falling over his eyes. The back of his eyes began to prick with tears when a familiar voice echoed down the corridor.

"Prince Arthur!" Gwaine's heavy, uneven footsteps grew louder until the commoner and the prince felt a large hand clap them on the shoulders. The smell of ale stung their noses and the Prince coughed in surprise. "I couldn't help but to overhear-"

Will stifled a snicker, and the Knight shot him a playfully sharp glance.

"-that my dear friend, Merlin, the Sorcerer Prince of Essetir, has gone missing. Is this true?"

A sticky, wet substance clung to Will's shirt where Gwaine rested one of his hands. The servant gave his friend an exasperated look. Gwaine's blood would once again stain his only shirt.

"It is true," Prince Arthur tried to shrug the hand off, but the knight held on. He wore a brown, leather jacket with a white, thin, cotton shirt beneath. His pants were black and looked slightly too large for him. His dark sheath was strapped to his new belt, making him look rather regal, which was quite abnormal for the knight.

"GWAINE, I'M GOING TO KILL-" Lancelot slowed his pace down so that he would not barrel through the small crowd in the middle of the hall, with Percival following closely behind. They bowed stiffly to the prince. "Prince Arthur. What a pleasant surprise." Lancelot grabbed the drunken Knights arm, who looked at him, a little confused.

"Wha-"

"Please excuse my inebriated friend. He's had a rough time of it-"

"Bullshit!"

"-and he drowns everything out with liquor."

"That's true enough. But hey," Gwaine planted his feet firmly in the ground, "playtime's over. Merlin's missing."

Lancelot and Percival froze. For a second, they processed what they had just heard, confusion passing over their faces, then realization, then determination.

"Alright," Lancelot nodded. "It would be best to split up. Gwaine, you take the lower town. You know the people there better than we do, and I'd even got as far as to say they trust you. I'll take the castle. It'll be easy for me to get around here, seeing as I can handle the lords and ladies. Percival, go with Gwaine. He's a great knight, but I don't trust him around taverns."

"Hey!" Gwaine protested, hands on his hips.

"Will, see if Mordred can track him down with their magic bond. We meet back in two hours at this spot," The Knights split up immediately, going their separate ways, darting in and out of the halls.

The servant grabbed Lacelot's arm."But Lance, you know their bond isn't strong here. Nor will it work unless Merlin's conscious."

"Exactly," Lancelot grabbed his shoulder in reassurance. "You'll be able to find him easily if he is conscious! It would make the search a lot shorter. After the search, Sir Gwaine is going straight to the court physicians," He said, eyeing the bloodstain on Will's shoulder.

"And," Prince Arthur stepped forward, not liking it one bit to be left out like this. "What about me?"

"If you would like, sire, you could go with Will and Mordred to keep them safe."

He nodded, charging forward towards the room where he knew the young prince was staying.

"I still don't understand why my search parties weren't enough," He mumbled to himself.

Will bit his lip. "If I may, sire?"

"What is it?"

"When Merlin was younger, he used to get into fights practically every day. Mostly, it was minor; a bully who had been caught going too far, a thief who stole a poor mans precious gem, things like that. Physically, he wasn't strong, but he refrained from attacking the boys with his magic because he didn't want to hurt them. He always came home with a bruise, a scratch, or a black eye, but he hated the look of disappointment in his parents eyes when they saw his injuries. So he started hiding in small crevices in walls, in crates or barrels, or any other dark place that would shield him until he could cast a spell to heal himself or at least cover his wounds. While your men are looking on the main routes, we'll look on the winding alleys and nooks and crannies of the city."

"And what is the 'magic bond' thing that Lancelot said was between the two princes?"

"Their magic connects them by telepathy," Seeing the look of confusion on the prince's face prompted him to explain. "They can speak to other magic users, and in rare occasions, non-magic users, by just simply thinking about talking to each other. It's a very complicated magic, but the boys are better than naturals. They were almost instantly bonded. The kind of bond that they have not only allows for communications, but they can also sense where their brother is, even if he is miles away, although the connection gets weaker with distance. But if one of them were to loose consciousness, it would be like sending a letter to a non-existent person. Mordred's brain would go into overdrive trying to find a passed out Merlin, which is why we have to stop after two hours."

The prince paused at Mordred's door. "What happens if Mordred surpasses his abilities?"

"Best case scenario; he needs a nap. Typical scenario; he passes out. Extreme scenario; his brain destroys itself."

"What?!"

Will reached passed the prince and knocked on the door. Mordred answered it, fully dressed with his cloak tied clumsily around his neck. He seemed to know exactly what was going on, and, frankly, that made Prince Arthur uneasy. The boy sorcerer took the servants hand and, with one weary look at the Camelotian Prince, began dragging them out of the castle and towards a lower, unsavory part of the city, which had been devoid of life for a long time.

It had formerly been a small portion of the city which ensured magical travelers safety and comfort. A while back, there had been a riot in which non-magical citizens marched through the streets and slaughtered more than half of the residents and travelers, men, women and children alike, before the guards could stop them. After the uprising, the king had decided it best to incorporate sorcerers into the main population instead of isolating them in the one part of the city. Now, the ruins marked the deaths of hundreds of innocents, and served as a graveyard for the unclaimed travelers. Decomposing bodies lay crumpled amongst the stones.

Yet these scenes didn't cause young Prince Mordred's footsteps to falter even a little. He trudged through the wretched streets, surging forward, following some unseen path. Suddenly, with an aggravated huff, he stopped. Crossing his arms, he sat on one of the stones and began to cry. Arthur stumbled back in surprise, unsure of what to do to quell the sobbing of a child. Will stepped forward and knelt down in front of the boy, rubbing his shoulder.

"Mordred," he began softly, "what happened? Did you loose the connection?"

The small boy nodded, miserably.

"That's alright. We'll find him. I'm sure-"

"Prince Arthur! Sire! Help!" Damian and a guard - Will remembered him before. Gany-something was it? - came sprinting towards their group of three.

Arthur looked up in surprise. The former servant and the guard seemed quite distressed enough for it to even be heard in their voices alone.

"Oh, thank the heavens you're here. It's Prince Merlin, sire!" The peasant tried to grab his arm and tug him in the direction he had come from, but he shrugged the hand off and followed his lead. "We found him shoved into a hole in one of the walls, severely- wait, is that Prince Mordred?" He froze, looking at the child among the ruins, who now stared at the ex-servant, following closely behind the golden haired prince's cloak.

"Yes, Damian. It is. Continue." He ignored the look of confusion and exasperation in Damian's eyes.

"Why did you have to bring him into this?! This is no place for-"

"Are you doubting my judgement, _peasant_?" Prince Arthur spat the word with disdain. Damian blushed in embarrassed horror.

"Of-Of course not, sire."

"Why are you even here in the first place?!"

Just as Damian was about to answer, a shout cut him off.

"Over here!" The guard, Gany-something, now stood in front of one of the crumbled structures. It was more intact than most of the others, and obviously had been a cozy home at some point before the riots. No corpses were strewn in the rubble, but the guard named Tristan sat on one of the stones, his head bowed down to rest in his lap, a cloaked lady casting some kind of healing spell on his bloody head wound. Damian's brother, Gili, was trying to carefully pull the beaten body of Prince Merlin from the wall, casting spells here and there to insure the Prince's safety and lessen his pain.

"Merlin!" Will sprinted over to his master and immediately began to help the exhausted looking peasant sorcerer extract him from the wall. His arm lay at a twisted angle, his nose was swollen and purple, and a deep gash caused blood to trickle down his neck and drip onto the gray, dry stones beneath him. As they set him slowly on the ground, the wound began to heal itself, skin regrowing over it and sealing it shut. Not even a scar was left. Gili looked over to Mordred, whose eyes still glowed golden as his other wounds beneath his torn shirt began to heal as well.

"Incredible." The older sorcerer remarked as he watched almost every scratch disappear from the prince's body. Prince Mordred gave Gili a small smile. Tristan stood up and stretched as the woman was finally satisfied with her work.

"You might need to be careful for a few days." She said. Arthur's head spun towards her, instantly recognizing the voice.

"Morgana?!"

His half sister turned to him, flicking her hood back and shooting him a sarcastic, sisterly smile. "Hello, my dear brother! It turns out you're not the only royal who found out about the missing Prince."

"You shouldn't be out here!" He hissed at her, grabbing her roughly by the arm and trying to drag her away from the others. "It's dangerous. Go back to your room and...play with dolls or something."

Morgana planted her feet firmly into the ground, her chin held high. "Or what? You'll tell our father?" She smirked.

Arthur blushed in frustration.

"Plus," she yanked her arm out of his grip, "you're the one who should be worried about your safety. I could always beat you in training. You're all brawn and no brain."

Morgana spun on her heel and walked over to the others. Gili looked thankful that she had returned. Quickly, he snapped Prince Merlin's nose back into place, and the unconscious Prince groaned. "We should get him back to Gaius. I don't trust myself with the rest of his injuries."

"I'll bring him to the court physicians." Will gently picked him up from the cold, hard ground. Mordred followed close behind.

"I'll show you the way!" Damian stepped forward, leading the servant towards the castle.

"And you," Prince Arthur turned to his half sister, "should be back to your chambers before anyone notices you're missing."

"Oh, hush brother dear!" She patted him on the cheek as one would a child. "It's not as if I had ever left my chambers in the first place."

And with that paradoxical revelation, she disappeared, leaving the rest of the men alone with their confusion.

* * *

_Heya, guys! _  
_Long time...no see. He he he._  
_Yeah, sorry about that._  
_I've been just about DROWNING in shitty grades and homework, just like the last time, but I've also been really REALLY sick for the last two months. Anyway, while I was sick, I stumbled upon a fandom called "Homestuck." I'm sure that many of you guys have probably seen a few of the fans or heard about it. My friend sent it to me in the video form, which is done by the amazing channel of CoLabHQ. They are FANTASTIC at reading it and have truly become the voices of the characters for me. But, I went to far into the fandom. And now I'm stuck. In the fandom. EVERYTHING IS HOMESTUCK, SUPERNATURAL, OR MERLIN, I SWEAR. It's really quite bad. *Laughs nervously and rubs back of neck*  
To those who are in the Homestuck fandom (and have gotten into act 6) and actually LIKE my shitty writing for some insane reason, please check out my fanfiction, "Mituna: Overload". If you do, I'll bake you a million virtual cookies from scratch (and, yes, I just realized that pun when I typed it).  
For those of you not in the fandom: Run. Run as fast as you can... t__o your computer to watch the videos or read the webcomic on MS Paint adventures. It's fantastic and insane and the best, I swear. Just get passed the first two acts!  
__Okay, so this chapter was actually really awkward to make, due to the long break. So, if it shows through, please tell me!  
__Anyway, onto the..._

_Review Responses:  
mersan123: Yeah, I keep on hurting poor Merlin! God, I really should feel terrible about that...but I don't. __What exactly does that say about me? __Hmm. *sweats nervously*  
MerlinMorgana1579: Yeah, I'm terribly sorry! Go check her stuff out if you... you know what? JUST CHECK OUT HER STUFF. _

_Thanks again to my wonderful beta, MerlinMorgana1579, for fixing all of my screw ups!_

_And THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!  
You are fantastic and awesome to stick with me. I know my writing is very VERY far from the best out there, so thanks for taking time to read this!  
And... you know... it would only take a few seconds to click on that review box/ button over there. If you did... you know... I would love you for all of eternity... and I would bake you (another) million virtual cookies. _

_Thanks for reading, and I'll see ya next time! (Hopefully, that won't take months again. I'm really sorry about that. BLAME HUSSIE. AND SICKNESS.)_

_REM _


	11. NEW ACCOUNT

Alright, so I know that you feel like you're being trolled and I know, I suck. I'm currently writing another chapter, so hopefully I'll finish something by the end of next week, but I have to tell you guys something!

I made another account with a friend!

A good friend of mine named TwoSents decided to help me with a story I was writing, so we made an account where both of us can get equal credit. It's been REALLY fun writing with her, so hopefully we'll be able to write a lot in the future.

Anyway, we have JUST posted our first story. It's a FNAF story about the world in the mind of Vincent, AKA the purple guy. Personally, I think it is a very hard piece to do, but I feel as though we make a great writing team! I know some of you guys are sickos like me, so if you are and you know Five Nights At Freddy's and have played it or watched other people play it (like Markiplier or Pewdiepie or Jacksepticeye) than please check it out! I think you'll be in for a treat if you do!

I know this writing is probably the worst I've ever posted, but PLEASE trust me. You won't be disappointed. if you check it out. The name of the new account is: TwoSentsOneREM.

Thank you so much for sticking with me.

MerlinMorgana1579, I hope you haven't given up on me! I know you probably are super pissed that I haven't had anything to send in several months, but I promise you, my dear beta, that I will get something to you sometime in the near future! I hope I will not disappoint you again!

REM


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